This blog is closing now. Thanks for following along. You can read all our Ukraine coverage here.
Russia says its forces capture two settlements in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region
The Russian defence ministry has said its forces have gained control over two settlements – Illinka and Petrivka – in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. We have not yet independently verified this claim.
Russian forces hold a little less than 20% of Ukraine’s territory and have advanced through Donetsk region over the past two months at their fastest rate since March 2022, according to open source data.
They are approaching Kurakhove and the town of Pokrovsk to the north, a key transportation hub.
Pokrovsk was once home to about 50,000 people. For more than a decade – after Vladimir Putin seized parts of Donetsk oblast in 2014 – it has been a Ukrainian military centre, as well as a rail and road hub. You can read more about the city in this profile of it by my colleague, Luke Harding.
Updated
