Russia’s government said on Sunday its forces had captured another village in the eastern Ukrainian Donetsk region, shortly after it claimed to have seized the city of Toretsk, which Kyiv denied.

Why It Matters

While fighting has blazed for nearly three years along hundreds of miles of front lines, Russia has focused its efforts on capturing as much of Ukraine’s industrial Donetsk region as possible. Kyiv has often reported the fiercest clashes taking place in the oblast.

Russia has set its sights on capturing several cities, including the strategic hub of Pokrovsk, and Toretsk—to the northeast—as well as on Chasiv Yar, sitting north of Toretsk.

What To Know

The Kremlin has been trying to capture Chasiv Yar since its forces seized the destroyed city of Bakhmut in May 2023, but have made slow progress despite many months of bitter, street-by-street clashes.

Popular Ukrainian war-tracking blog, DeepState, shows much of the settlement now under Russian control, with the northwestern edge of Orikhovo-Vasylivka as undetermined.

The statement from the Russian government came two days after Moscow said Toretsk had fallen to its troops. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly denied that the Kremlin now controls Toretsk.

Ukraine’s Khortytsia group of troops operating in Donetsk said on Sunday that Russian forces had attempted to raise the country’s tricolor flag in Toretsk, but had “failed.” Ukraine’s General Staff said on Sunday that fighting was taking place around Chasiv Yar and Toretsk, but did not comment further.

Russia said on Friday that Toretsk had become a “powerful, fortified area,” and its control of the city “opens the way” for Russian forces to take control of the nearby settlement of Kostiantynivka.

Kostiantynivka is linked to Toretsk and the southern outskirts of Chasiv Yar by major highways, and is one of the settlements dubbed a “fortress city,” which are crucial to Ukraine’s belt of defenses in the east.

The U.S.-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had “recently marginally advanced” along the highway connecting Bakhmut and Kostiantynivka, that skims the south of Chasiv Yar.

One of Russia’s prominent military bloggers said Moscow would target Kostiantynivka and settlements around Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, further north, which are heavily fortified, built-up areas.

Moscow said on Friday that since the start of February, Russian troops had seized three other settlements in Donetsk, including the village of Druzhba on Toretsk’s northeastern edge. Russia’s government also said its forces had captured a village in the northeastern Kharkiv region since February 1.

Who Said What

Russia’s Defense Ministry in a post to messaging app Telegram on Friday: “During five months of fighting for Dzerzhinsk, our troops inflicted significant losses on the enemy. The Armed Forces of Ukraine lost over 70 percent of the personnel of their group—this is more than 26,000 servicemen.” Dzerzhinsk is how Russia refers to Toretsk, which was renamed in 2016.

What Happens Next

There are circulating questions around how quickly U.S. President Donald Trump will be able to broker the ceasefire deal for war-torn Ukraine he pledged to achieve within 24 hours of taking office. While this deadline has long passed, he has indicated he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and intends to meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in the coming days.