Russia has said it had captured a strategically significant settlement in the west of Ukraine's Donetsk oblast amid reports that its troops are closing in on the key regional city of Toretsk as maps show the state of play along the front line.
Russia's Defense Ministry said it had captured Velyka Novosilka, although Ukraine's military only acknowledged there had been a partial withdrawal and that fighting was ongoing elsewhere in the settlement.
Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian Defense Ministry for comment.
Why It Matters
Velyka Novosilka is fewer than 10 miles from the border with Zaporizhzhia Oblast and 13 miles from the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a region so far untouched by Russian occupation. If confirmed, Velyka Novosilka's capture would be the most significant Russian gain in Donetsk since Kurakhove earlier in January.
What To know
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Sunday its forces had captured Velyka Novosilka, although Ukraine's 110th Mechanized Brigade, which is deployed in the area, said on Monday it had withdrawn from parts of the settlement to avoid encirclement, but that fighting was ongoing elsewhere in the area.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Sunday that geolocated evidence showed Russian forces occupied 89 percent of the settlement, but there was no sign that it had been encircled.
The Washington D.C. think tank said that Russia had been unusually vocal about the claimed seizure; likely to shape Western perceptions of the battlefield and degrade international support for Ukraine.
The think tank also said that Russian forces are poised to seize Toretsk, with its map showing Moscow's advances near the district of Krymske in the north of the town.
However, Ukraine's military said on Monday that Russian forces had made unsuccessful pushes in the Kharkiv and Kupiansk directions.
The U.K. Ministry of Defence said on Monday that Russian forces had expanded a bridgehead on the west bank of the Oskil River and was applying pressure to the logistics hub of Kupiansk.
Russian forces control supply lines east and south of Kupiansk and are probably focusing on getting hold of the northern supply routes into the city, it added.
What People Are Saying
The Institute for the Study of War said: [Moscow] is paying an abnormally high amount of fanfare to the claimed Russian seizure of Velyka Novosilka, very likely (...) to shape Western perceptions of the battlefield situation in Ukraine and degrade international support for Ukraine."
What Happens Next
The capture and clearing of Velyka Novosilka would mean Russian command would decide on whether to redeploy troops to other front-line areas which could signal Moscow's priorities for spring and summer, the ISW said. Meanwhile, slow Russian advances are likely to continue in Donetsk at a high cost in personnel.
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