MOSCOW: Russia’s army on Thursday claimed it had captured another village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the latest in a string of territorial advances for Moscow’s troops.

The defence ministry in Moscow said its forces had captured the village of Mezhove, located between Avdiivka, captured in February, and the logistics hub of Pokrovsk, toward which Russian troops are advancing.

Moscow has pushed on with its offensive in the Donetsk region even as it tries to fight off a Ukrainian counter-assault into its own Kursk border region.

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Facing manpower and ammunition shortages for much of 2024, Ukraine has been pushed onto the back foot in the industrial eastern region following months of stalemate.

Russia’s defence ministry has claimed to capture new settlements in the area on an almost daily basis in recent weeks.

They include towns such as New York, which have been the focus of heavy fighting and artillery raids for months, as well as tiny villages, consisting of little more than a single street and a handful of abandoned buildings.

Ukraine is evacuating civilians from the city of Pokrovsk and its surrounding areas, about 10 kilometres (six miles) from the fighting, where officials say some 50,000 still live.