Russia announced on Sunday that its forces had taken control of two more villages in eastern Ukraine—one located in the Donetsk region and another in Kharkiv—as Moscow continues its slow but steady advance along the front line.
Ukrainian officials have yet to respond to the claims.
The Russian defence ministry said in separate statements that troops had “liberated” the settlements of Piddubne in Donetsk and Sobolivka in Kharkiv, using Russian spellings of the names—Poddubnoye and Sobolevka.
Piddubne, a village that had a pre-war population of roughly 500 people, is situated around seven kilometres from the border with Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region.
Sobolivka lies about three kilometres west of Kupiansk—a strategically important town in Kharkiv—and outside the areas that Russia officially claims to control, according to maps from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Moscow’s forces have maintained pressure along the eastern front for over a year, exploiting Ukraine’s challenges with troop shortages and stretched military resources.
Russian military progress accelerated throughout June, marking a third consecutive month of territorial gains.
According to an AFP analysis of ISW data, Russia’s advances last month were the most significant since November 2023.
