Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its forces captured the eastern Ukrainian town of Selydove as part of a wider push to seize the nearby logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
The capture of the frontline town of Selydove, located around 18 kilometers (10 miles) southeast of Pokrovsk, is the latest battlefield gain for Russia, which has gradually taken large swaths of territory in the Donetsk region.
"As a result of successful operations... the town of Selidovo in the Donetsk region is fully liberated," Russia's Defense Ministry said, using the Russian name for the town.
The announcement came shortly after Moscow said it captured the two nearby villages of Bogoyavlenka and Katerynivka, as well as the small town of Girnyk, which are all located south of Selydove and near the Ukrainian-held industrial town of Kurakhove.
Selydove had a population of around 20,000 before Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago. The town was home to the only Donetsk region coal mine still under Kyiv's control.
Russian forces have taken 478 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory since the beginning of October, a record since the first weeks of the war, according to an AFP analysis of data from the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War.
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