Russian forces have taken control of the village of Nevelske in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the RIA news agency reported today, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense.
In the morning report from the front line, the Ukrainian General Staff said that the Russian attacks on the Nevelsk region were repelled.
This was announced a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine has "stopped" the Russian advance on Ukrainian territory and that the situation on the front is "much better", Beta agency reports.
Units from the Southern Forces "liberated the village of Nevelske in the direction of Donetsk and occupied favorable lines and positions," the Russian Ministry of Defense said in its regular daily report.
The account DeepState (DeepState) on Telegram, close to the Ukrainian army and which has more than 680.000 followers, announced last night that "the enemy is advancing near Nevelska".
Russian forces have been taking bits and pieces of territory in eastern Ukraine for weeks, a trend that has accelerated since the fall of the town of Avdiyvka, which Moscow captured in mid-February.
The announcement about the Russian occupation of the village was made a day after President Zelenski's interview with the French media, in which he assured that the Russian advance in the east was "stopped" and that the situation on the front was "much better" than three months ago.
Ukraine has begun building hundreds of kilometers of defensive fortified lines to stop the Russian advance, but there has been criticism that the fortifications are weak and missing in some areas.
Bonus video: