Russia said on Sunday that its forces had captured the eastern Ukrainian village of Orikhovo-Vasylivka, near the strategic military hub of Chasiv Yar that Moscow is attempting to seize.
There is intensive fighting in the frontline town of Chasiv Yar, one of the last remaining urban areas blocking Russia from advancing further into the region, according to Russian military bloggers.
The Russian defence ministry said in a daily briefing that 鈥榓s a result of decisive attack actions, the South group of troops liberated the settlement of Orekhovo-Vasilevka in the Donetsk region,鈥� using the Russian name for the village.
Orikhovo-Vasylivka is located around 10 kilometres north of Chasiv Yar and near the road to the Ukraine-held city of Sloviansk.
The latest advance comes as Russian troops are pushing further into the Donetsk region. They claimed the key mining town of Toretsk on Friday, while Ukraine denies Moscow troops are in full control there.
Ukraine鈥檚 Khortytsia army unit, which is fighting in the area, said Sunday that it had repelled attacks in the areas of Chasiv Yar and Toretsk and shot down a Russian military jet near Toretsk.
Ukraine鈥檚 air force said that overnight Russia had attacked six regions with 151 drones, of which it shot down 70 while a further 74 were lost 鈥榳ithout negative consequences鈥�.
Russia鈥檚 defence ministry said it had destroyed 35 Ukrainian drones overnight and one in the northwestern Leningrad region on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin on Sunday declined to confirm or deny a US report of a phone call between US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Washington and Moscow have not officially confirmed any communication between the leaders since Trump took office on a pledge to swiftly end the Ukraine fighting.
The New York Post late Saturday reported that Trump told the publication he had spoken on the phone to Putin to discuss bringing an end to the conflict in Ukraine and the Russian told him he 鈥榳ants to see people stop dying鈥�.
The newspaper quoted Trump as saying he had 鈥榖etter not say鈥� how often the leaders have spoken.