MOSCOW, Russia: Russia’s defense ministry announced on Saturday that its forces had captured the settlement of Lozuvatske in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, a hotspot of intense frontline battles in the ongoing war.
While Ukraine’s General Staff did not mention Lozuvatske specifically, they acknowledged heavy fighting in the area. Military bloggers have also reported the loss of at least two other localities in the sector.
Russian forces have been making gradual advances in the Donetsk region, achieving steady, incremental gains since capturing the key town of Avdiivka in February. The Russian defense ministry confirmed that its “center” grouping of forces had seized Lozuvatske, located northwest of the regional center of Donetsk, which is under Russian control. Additionally, Russian forces launched strikes on other localities in the sector and repelled three Ukrainian counter-attacks.
Ukrainian officials have highlighted the severity of the fighting in the Pokrovsk sector, describing it as one of the most intense along the 1,000-km front line. President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the situation with his top commander, Olexandr Syrskyi, emphasizing the critical nature of the battles.
The Ukrainian General Staff reported that their forces had repelled 17 attacks in the area, with 10 clashes still ongoing, maintaining that the situation, while difficult, remained under control.
Meanwhile, the unofficial Ukrainian military blog DeepState reported the loss of two villages in the sector, Prohres and Vovche, though official Ukrainian accounts have not confirmed these reports.
