Item 1 of 2 A serviceman of the National Police Special Purpose Battalion walks at a position in a front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near the town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine November 20, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer

[1/2] A serviceman of the National Police Special Purpose Battalion walks at a position in a front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near the town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine November 20, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

MOSCOW, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Friday that its forces had captured a string of frontline settlements in eastern Ukraine, a claim Kyiv has either denied or declined to acknowledge.

The ministry said that four settlements in the Donetsk region, the focal point of Russia’s westward push, were now under its control, including Yampil, east of the Ukrainian-held city of Sloviansk.

Ukraine on Thursday said Yampil remained under its control despite Russian infiltration attempts.

The Chief of Russia’s General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, said on Thursday its forces had captured the largely destroyed city of Kupiansk, though Ukraine denied it.

On Friday, Kyiv said that Russian forces had launched six attacks on Kupiansk, but said nothing about it changing hands.

The Russian Defence Ministry statement on Friday said three other villages in the Donetsk region – Stavky, Novoselivka and Maslyakivka – were now under Moscow’s control, as well as a village in neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region.

The Ukrainian General Staff’s evening frontline report noted that Stavky and Novoselivka were in areas under Russian attack but said nothing about territorial losses.

For months, fighting along the 1,200 km (775 miles) front line has centred on Russia’s attempts to advance on the logistics centre of Pokrovsk.

Gerasimov on Thursday said the Kremlin’s forces controlled 70% of the town, a claim dismissed by Ukraine’s military.

The Ukrainian General Staff on Friday said Russian troops had launched 62 attacks on areas near Pokrovsk.

The Ukrainian military blog DeepState, which uses open source material to chart the positions of the two sides, said on Friday that the centre of Pokrovsk was “gradually coming under enemy control” as Russian troops moved in from the south.

It said Russian troops were also moving into a village just east of Pokrovsk.

Russian forces have been engaged in a slow westward advance through the Donetsk region as part of their campaign to capture all of the Donbas, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Russian forces have also made gains further south in Zaporizhzhia region. They hold about 19% of Ukraine’s territory.

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