KYIV: Russia said on Saturday it had captured a village flanking the eastern flashpoint city of Toretsk in Ukraine as Kyiv said four people had died in overnight Russian strikes.
The Russian defence ministry said its troops seized the village of Krymske in the northeastern suburbs of Toretsk, located in the eastern Donetsk region and the scene of intense fighting in recent months.
The Russian army is slowly but steadily advancing in Donetsk, despite heavy human and material losses.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian troops in the region said there was intense fighting in urban areas of Toretsk and Chasiv Yar, a strategically important military hub on the front line.
DeepState, a group of Ukrainian military analysts, says Russian forces have been in the centre of the two contested cities for months.
Overnight, at least four people died in Russian strikes on the central Ukrainian city of Poltava and the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
Russian air attack kills three in Ukraine
Ukrainian authorities had issued air raid alerts for the entire country just before 7:00 am (0500 GMT) on Saturday, warning of missile and drone threats in several regions.
Ukrainian emergency services said on Telegram a “missile strike on a residential building” in Poltava had killed at least three people and wounded at least 13, three of them seriously.
They published images showing firefighters searching through the smouldering ruins of a building.
‘Russian terror’
In Kharkiv, a Russian drone shot down by air defence fell on a residential area, killing a woman and injuring four other people, regional governor Oleg Synegubov said on Telegram.
The Russian defence ministry said its overnight strikes had hit gas and energy infrastructure that supply Ukraine’s “military-industrial complexes”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks showed his country needed more defence systems to protect itself from “Russian terror”.
He said: “Last night, Russia attacked our cities using various types of weapons: missiles, attack drones, air bombs.
“Every air defence system, every anti-missile is a lifesaver. It is very important that our partners act… and increase pressure on Russia, “ Zelensky said, adding that damage had been reported in six regions – Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Odesa, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia.
Earlier this week, Ukraine launched a major drone attack on western Russia, killing a child and his mother and a refinery on fire.
The fully-fledged Russian invasion of its neighbour enters its fourth year in February.
US President Donald Trump said during his election campaign he could end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office on January 20.
He has been critical of the amount Washington has spent arming Ukraine and has also threatened to impose additional sanctions on Russia.
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