Russian troops now fully control the entire Kherson region of southern Ukraine, the Kremlin has claimed.
The country’s defence ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenov made the suggestion on Tuesday. However, it has not been independently verified.
This comes almost two weeks after Russia captured the Black Sea port of Kherson, the first major Ukrainian city to fall since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion.
On Tuesday, Moscow also said its army shot down six Turkish-made Bayraktar TB-2 drones in the last 24 hours, the Interfax news agency cited the defence ministry as saying.
The reported developments were announced as Russia continues to bombard Kyiv and other cities across the country.
Russian airstrikes hit a residential area in the capital overnight, causing the death of at least one person, according to the Associated Press. Others remain trapped inside a partially collapsed 15-storey building, it added.
Peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators are set to resume on Tuesday, after both sides expressed glimmers of optimism.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an aide to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, said discussions would focus on “peace, ceasefire, immediate withdrawal of troops & security guarantees”.
The humanitarian situation remains dire for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians living in besieged cities such as Mariupol, which has been fully encircled by Russian soldiers since the first week of the war. There is thought to be a critical shortage of food and water in the city.
Ukrainian authorities said that a convoy of 160 cars was able to leave the beleaguered port on Monday, with a ceasefire holding along the route to Zaporizhzhia. However, Kyiv said Russian soldiers blocked vehicles carrying much-needed aid to Mariupol.
Over in Kyiv, Russian troops edge closer to the centre of the capital. Despite this, the leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia will travel there on Tuesday to express the EU’s support for Ukraine.
“The aim of the visit is to express the European Union’s unequivocal support for Ukraine and its freedom and independence,” the Czech prime minister Petr Fiala said.
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