Russia's Defense Ministry claimed on Jan. 12 that its forces had captured the villages of Yantarne in Donetsk Oblast and Kalynove in Kharkiv Oblast.
Ukraine has not commented on the claims, which could not be immediately verified.
Moscow's forces have ramped up pressure in Ukraine's east as Ukrainian defenders find themselves increasingly outnumbered and outgunned.
Yantarne lies around 10 kilometers (6 miles) southeast of the eastern town of Kurakhove, almost completely overrun by Russian forces. The Ukrainian military recently claimed it continues to hold positions at the Kurakhove Thermal Power Plant.
Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov on Jan. 10 shared footage showing Russian soldiers raising flags over damaged buildings, claiming to be located in Yantarne.
The Ukrainian war monitoring website DeepState said that the situation in the village is still being clarified without confirming nor denying the loss of Yantarne, while Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces reported engagements in the area on Jan. 12.
The northeastern village of Kalynove lies on the west bank of the Oskil River and north of Kupiansk, a key logistical hub liberated by Ukraine during a counteroffensive in the fall of 2022.
Russian forces have been attempting to force the Oskil River for months in an attempt to outflank Ukrainian defenders. Andrii Besedin, head of the Kupiansk town military administration, said on Jan. 9 that Moscow's troops are trying to secure a bridgehead in the town of Dvorichna on the river's Ukraine-held western bank.
Besedin also said that Russian forces are now within 2 kilometers (1.5 miles) of Kupiansk's outskirts, adding that the situation is "very difficult."
Kateryna Denisova
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