RUSSIAN troops advancing slowly on the eastern front of the war in Ukraine have captured two settlements in Donetsk region as well as one in Ukraine's northern region of Sumy, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday.
Reuters reported that since their failed advance on the capital Kyiv in the first weeks of the war,.
In recent months, Moscow has also tried to advance in Sumy region, particularly after Russia's military said it had ousted Ukrainian troops from the Russian border region of Kursk.
A Russian Defence Ministry statement said its forces had captured the village of Stupochky in Donetsk region, east of Kostiantynivka, a town under recent Russian pressure.
It also said it had taken control of Otradne, a village further west along the 1,000-km front and announced the capture of Loknya, a village inside the Russian border in Sumy region.
The general staff of Ukraine's military acknowledged no such losses, referring to Otradne as one of several towns where Ukrainian troops had halted 18 frontline Russian attacks. It referred to Stupochky earlier this week as part of an area under Russian attack.
For months, Ukraine has reported attempts by Russian forces to occupy areas of Sumy region, but has never acknowledged the capture of any of them.
Reuters could not independently verify battlefield accounts from either side.
Ukraine's popular DeepState military blog, which uses open source reports, said Russian forces had for the first time "been able to take up positions" along a line of border villages.
Russia's Defence Ministry on Friday announced the capture of Radkivka, a village outside the northeastern city of Kupiansk, which has been under pressure for months.
On Saturday, Kupiansk Mayor Andrii Besedin said the attacks were taking a toll, including two city workers killed on Friday.
"We are seeing awful losses among our people, our colleagues who give their lives so the city can go on living," Besedin told national television. "Sadly, as of now, the city is 90% destroyed."
Russia and Ukraine swap hundreds more prisoners
Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds more prisoners Saturday as part of a major swap that amounted to a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire.
AP reported the exchange came hours after Kyiv came under a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack that left at least 15 people injured, and authorities in Ukraine said the capital again came under a combined aerial drone and missile attack early Sunday, injuring 11. The attack is still going on.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s defense ministry said each side brought home 307 more soldiers on Saturday, a day after each released a total of 390 combatants and civilians. Further releases expected over the weekend are set to make the swap the largest in more than three years of war.
“We expect more to come tomorrow,” Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel. Russia’s defense ministry also said it expected the exchange to be continued, though it did not give details.
Hours earlier, explosions and anti-aircraft fire were heard throughout Kyiv as many sought shelter in subway stations as Russian drones and missiles targeted the Ukrainian capital overnight.
In talks held in Istanbul earlier this month — the first time the two sides met face to face for peace talks since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion — Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each. - May 25, 2025
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