War Map for Ukraine Latest as Russia Claims New Settlement Conquered

Russia has advanced on one of its key targets in eastern Ukraine in recent days, while Moscow says its forces have captured another village in the disputed Donetsk region.

The US-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which tracks daily changes in the front line, said on Saturday that Russian troops had advanced to the east and southeast of Pokrovsk, a city in the west of Ukraine’s disputed Donetsk region.

The Ukrainian-occupied Pokrovsk logistics hub in Donetsk has been referred to as a “fort” settlementkey to the Ukrainian defense in the east and connected to other crucial defense cities, such as Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka.

Russia has been slowly but surely moving towards a solution since the former Ukrainian stronghold of Avdiivka was captured by Moscow in February. The ISW said this earlier Newsweek that Russia had roughly advanced two square kilometers (0.7 square miles) per day west of the Avdiivka towards Pokrovsk between February and early August.

This pace would likely slow as Moscow’s forces move further toward Pokrovsk and again encounter more residential and built-up areas, Angelica Evans, a Russian researcher at the think tank, predicted at the time.

Popular Ukrainian war blog DeepState said late Friday that Russia had advanced in Selydove, a town southeast of Pokrovsk where heavy fighting has been reported.

The Ukrainian military said in a statement on Sunday at 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m. Dutch time) that Russia “has already made fifteen attempts” to expel Ukrainian troops from positions around Selydove, the village of Myrolyubivka, east of Pokrovsk, and other settlements along the border. front line.

The pro-Kremlin Shot Telegram channel said on Saturday that Russia had made an “epic breakthrough” in Selydove and claimed that Moscow’s forces now control 80 percent of the settlement.

“The main battles are taking place in the city center,” the channel wrote, claiming that Ukrainian forces had withdrawn to the northwest of Selydove.

The Two Majors Telegram channel said on Sunday that a Russian attack “led to the collapse of the defenses of the Ukrainian armed forces” in Selydove, the village of Hirnyk – southeast of the former – and another settlement to the southwest.

Russia’s state news agency Tass reported on Sunday that Kiev had withdrawn from many positions in Hirnyk, citing an anonymous security source. This could not be independently verified.

Selydove “was taken,” the account claimed. Newsweek could not independently verify the battlefield reports and has contacted the Ukrainian military and the Russian Ministry of Defense via email for comment.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that its forces had captured Izmailivka, a village southeast of Pokrovsk and immediately west of Hirnyk. The day before, Moscow said its forces had captured Oleksandropil, a village northeast of Pokrovsk and west of the ongoing battle for the Donetsk town of Toretsk.

On Sunday, DeepState said separately that Russia had captured Levadne, a village in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhia region that Kiev recaptured during the 2023 counteroffensive. It is located just across the southern border of Donetsk, southwest of Pokrovsk.

Vladyslav Voloshyn, a spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the south, said on Sunday that Ukraine was still in control of the high ground near Levadne and was trying to retake their positions.