Moscow, July 28, (dpa/GNA) – Russian troops have made further gains in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, the Defence Ministry in Moscow said on Sunday.
In a post on Telegram, the ministry said troops had captured the villages of Progress and Yevhenivka. There was initially no confirmation from the Ukrainian military.
The pro-government Ukrainian military channel Deep State, recently reported on Telegram that the village of Progress in the Pokrovsk district, which had been fought over for three months, had been occupied by Russian troops.
Western military experts agree Russian troops, have taken control of numerous towns and villages in eastern Ukraine since the beginning of the year.
The Ministry of Defence in Moscow, has reported dozens of conquests in the annexed Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as well as in the Kharkiv region, which is predominantly controlled by Ukraine, since the beginning of the year.
The Russian war aim, is to completely occupy the annexed, but not fully controlled, Ukrainian territories of Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Luhansk and Donetsk.
Kiev does not normally confirm any territorial losses.
On Sunday, the armed forces of both sides, each, reported the shooting down of numerous drones by the enemy and individual successes, in battles on the battlefield.
With Western support, Kiev has been fending off an all-out Russian invasion since February 2022. About a fifth of the country is occupied by Russian troops.
Russian oil facility burns after Ukrainian drone attack
A Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian region of Kursk near the border has set an oil storage facility on fire, the regional governor reported earlier on Sunday.
Acting Governor Alexei Smirnov said on his Telegram channel, that three fuel tanks have caught fire and firefighting efforts are ongoing.
“None of the residents or workers at the industrial site were injured,” he said.
The Defence Ministry in Moscow also reported several Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory, including the Kursk region, which is frequently targeted by attacks.
According to Smirnov, debris from a downed drone hit a house in a village in the Kursk region, which subsequently caught fire. No one was injured.
In the small town of Sudzha, a Ukrainian drone dropped an explosive on a residential building, injuring a woman who was then taken to hospital.
Ukraine targets Russian sites daily to disrupt military supplies. With Western support, Kiev, which has been fending off an all-out Russian invasion since February 2022, has significantly ramped up its drone production.
The impact and consequences of these Ukrainian strikes are not nearly as extensive as the widespread destruction and high number of fatalities resulting from Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine.
Russia marks Navy Day
Meanwhile in Russia, naval parades were held throughout the country as the nation marked Navy Day, with a particular show of force in St Petersburg, home city of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The parade there featured warships from China, India and Algeria and delegations from a dozen countries.
Some 200 warships from a range of classes and around 15,000 members of the armed forces took part in parades throughout the country, the Russian Ministry of Defence said.
Russia also dispatched three warships from the Baltic Fleet stationed in the Baltic Sea to the waters off Cuba, for a non-official visit until the end of the month, according to the navy.
Warships of the Russian Northern Fleet, including a nuclear submarine without armament and the Admiral Gorshkov frigate, anchored in Havana harbour back in June.
To mark Navy Day, Russia’s military television channel Zvezda broadcast a report which emphasized the proximity of the warships to the US. “Dear NATO friends!” It was only a temporary base in Havana for the time being. “But you already know…. .” the presenter said.
Russia repeatedly says it is under threat since US weapons are stationed in Europe and NATO has expanded.
Putin, in St Petersburg, also emphasized that if US plans to put missiles in Germany were implemented, Moscow would no longer feel committed to a ban on land-based medium-range nuclear weapons. State, military infrastructure and significant industrial facilities could thus be hit within 10 minutes, he said.
Russia marks Navy Day on the last Sunday of July.
GNA