Russia on Saturday claimed another village in eastern Ukraine as it pushes towards the city of Toretsk in a fresh local offensive in the embattled Donetsk region.
Toretsk lies north-west of the city of Gorlivka, which has been under separatist control since 2014.
The city has been largely spared from the worst of the fighting but that has changed in recent weeks after Moscow鈥檚 forces began advancing, taking Ukrainian forces by surprise.
Moscow鈥檚 defence ministry said Russian forces had 鈥榓s a result of successful acts, liberated the settlement of Shumy鈥� and gained a better 鈥榯actical position.鈥櫬�
Shumy lies less than 10 kilometres east of Toretsk, a mining town which had a pre-war population of around 32,000.
Ukrainian forces have been particularly vulnerable since the end of 2023 because of major delays in European and US arms deliveries.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack on a house in a Russian border village killed five people, including two children, the regional governor said Saturday.
The drone hit a house in the village of Gorodishche, a tiny village in Russia鈥檚 Kursk region, just a few metres from the border with Ukraine.
鈥楾o our great grief, five people were killed ... including two small children. Another two members of the family are in a serious condition,鈥� Kursk governor Alexei Smirnov said in a post on Telegram.
The attack was with a 鈥榗opter鈥�-style drone, he added, a small device that can be fitted to carry grenades or other explosives that are dropped over targets.
Both sides have used drones, including larger self-detonating craft with ranges of up to hundreds of kilometres, extensively throughout the conflict which began in February 2022.
Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russian territory this year, targeting both energy sites that it says fuel Russia鈥檚 military, as well as towns and villages just across the border.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a major new land offensive on Ukraine鈥檚 northeastern Kharkiv region last month in what he said was an operation to create a 鈥榖uffer zone鈥� and push Ukrainian forces back to protect Russia鈥檚 border Belgorod region from shelling.
The Kursk region, where Saturday鈥檚 attack occurred, lies further north, across from Ukraine鈥檚 Sumy region, which Kyiv controls.
