War in Ukraine: Russian army claims to have captured a village near Donetsk

Russia continues to strengthen its position in eastern Ukraine. Moscow said Tuesday it had seized a village near Donetsk already under its control, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had “stopped” a Russian offensive.

“In the Donetsk direction, parts of the Southern Group of Forces liberated the settlement of Nevelskoye and occupied more advantageous lines and positions,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said in its daily report. Telegram channel DeepState, which is close to the Ukrainian army and followed by more than 680,000 people, also reported on Monday evening that “the enemy has advanced near Nevelskoye.”

Hundreds of kilometers of fortifications

Russian troops have been advancing in eastern Ukraine for weeks, a trend that has accelerated with the fall of the fortress town of Avdiivka to Moscow in mid-February. The announcement of the capture of the village came the day after an interview with French media with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, in which he assured that “Russia’s offensive has been stopped” in the East and that at the moment the situation is “much better” in the east. front than three months ago.

Ukraine has committed to building hundreds of kilometers of defensive fortifications to stop Russian advances, but there has been criticism that they are weak or even non-existent in some areas.