Russia has said its forces had captured the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, a key military logistics hub, as well as the city of Vovchansk in the northeast.
The battlefield claims, announced by the Kremlin in a post on Telegram on Monday, up the pressure on Kiev as it seeks to bring the United States on side in US-led negotiations aimed at ending the war.
President Vladimir Putin said the capture of the key Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk would enable the military to proceed with its tasks in its offensive operations in Ukraine, according to Russian news agencies.
"This is an important direction. We all understand just how important. It will ensure solutions going forward to the tasks we initially set at the beginning of the special military operation," Putin was quoted as saying during a visit to a command post.
"Russia's armed forces are confidently holding the initiative and continue to carry out the operation's tasks. Russian forces are advancing in practically all directions."
Ukraine, Putin was quoted as saying, was unable to react to the advances of the Russian military, and he singled out successes recorded further south in the Zaporizhzhia region.
In his remarks, Putin also described heavy losses that he said had been sustained by Ukrainian forces in the fighting as "the tragedy of the Ukrainian people".
Russia's military chief of staff, Valery Gerasimov, on Sunday "informed (President) Vladimir Putin of the liberation of the cities of Krasnoarmeysk and Vovchansk," the Kremlin said on Telegram, using the Russian name for Pokrovsk.
The Defence Ministry posted a video purportedly showing Russian soldiers raising their country's flag over Pokrovsk's central square.
'Important step'
Pokrovsk, a road and rail hub in the Donetsk region that had around 60,000 inhabitants before the war, has been the target of an intense Russian campaign in recent months.
Last month, Ukraine sent reinforcements, including special forces troops, to the city in a bid to fend off Russia's attack.
But hundreds of Russian soldiers had managed to infiltrate the city.
Vovchansk, located in the Kharkiv region, has been devastated by combat since May 2024.
Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov had called its capture an "important step toward victory."
