The Ukrainian military has noted further fierce fighting near Donetsk villages claimed by Russia.
The Russian defence ministry said yesterday that Spirne and Novooleksandrivka had been captured by troops (see our 6.22am post for more detail).
The eastern Pokrovsk front, which includes Novooleksandrivka, remained the site of the fiercest fighting, with 42 assaults repelled out of a total of 142 battles over the past day, the Ukrainian military said.
It is not clear whether the Ukrainian military is denying that the villages have fallen into Russian hands, however.
Spirne is located in the east of the Donetsk region, near the border with Ukraine's Luhansk region, while Novooleksandrivka lies some 100km further southwest.
