Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Monday that its forces had captured a “major” settlement in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, where Moscow’s troops are making advances even as Ukraine conducts its armed incursions into Russian territory.
The Defense Ministry reported that Russian forces had “liberated” the town of Artemovo, known in Ukraine as Zalizne, describing it as one of the region’s “major population centers.” The town is situated near the towns of New York and Toretsk, which Russian forces are also attempting to capture.
Zalizne had a population of around 5,000 at the start of 2022, making it one of the largest settlements seized by Russian troops in recent weeks.
Moscow claims to have captured a series of smaller settlements in the eastern Donetsk region—many of which consist of little more than a single street and a few destroyed buildings—in a slow and grinding advance.
The Donetsk region is one of four Ukrainian territories that Moscow declared as annexed in 2022, despite not having full control over any of them.
This region has been the site of the most intense combat in the ongoing two-and-a-half-year conflict. Kyiv has struggled to maintain its front line there, facing manpower and ammunition shortages after months of grueling, attritional fighting.
