Russian forces took control of the village of Staromajorske in eastern Ukraine on Monday, according to the Russian military. It is being hailed as a major symbolic setback for Ukraine.
The village is considered to have great symbolic significance because it is one of the few villages that Ukraine managed to win back last year during a largely failed counter-offensive.
Staromajorske is located on the front line in southern Donetsk, one of the four partially occupied regions that Moscow has claimed to have annexed since autumn 2022. It is also where some of the fiercest battles in the war are currently taking place.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia had taken control of 47 Ukrainian villages and towns so far this year.
This includes gains in the Kharkiv region in the northeast, where Russian forces launched a major ground offensive last month. This led to thousands of Ukrainians in the border areas being forced to evacuate due to the fighting.
On the battlefield, Russia has shifted its focus to two strategic cities in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian soldiers told AFP at the weekend.
