KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥 Russia鈥檚 Defense Ministry claimed on Friday that its forces had captured the coal mining town of Toretsk in their latest breakthrough in eastern Ukraine鈥檚 Donetsk region, where Ukrainian defenses are creaking.
Ukrainian officials did not immediately make any comments on the Russian claim.
A Ukrainian officer in a brigade on the outskirts of Toretsk cast doubt on the Russian statement. Yevhen Alkhimov, the press officer of the 28th Brigade, told The Associated Press by phone that his unit had not been moved from its position, which he said likely would have happened if Toretsk had fallen.
Russia's much larger army has conducted a sustained , gradually loosening the short-handed and weary Ukrainian forces鈥 grip on its strongholds as approaches its fourth year later this month.
The losses coincide with uncertainty over whether the United States will keep providing vital military aid. U.S. President Donald Trump, who says he is , has said he , although his plans for securing peace are unclear.
Alkhimov, the 28th Brigade officer, told AP his unit continued to hold its ground on Friday afternoon. He added: 鈥淚ntense (Russian) assault operations are ongoing.鈥
DeepState, an open-source Ukrainian map widely used by the military and analysts, showed late Thursday that Ukrainian troops were on the northwest edge of Toretsk and still had some soldiers inside the town itself.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Ukrainian military has heavily fortified Toretsk and developed a network of underground communications, turning practically every building into a well-protected firing position. The Ukrainian forces also have used coal mines and waste heaps in Toretsk鈥檚 western and northern parts as defenses, it said in a statement.
Russia's claimed fall of Toretsk, if confirmed, would advance its sweep across the Donetsk, which has cost Moscow heavily in troops and armor but has paid dividends for the Kremlin. In the offensive, Russian forces crush settlements with the brute force of 3,000-pound (1,300-kilo) and drones, then send in infantry units to attack the exposed defenders.
So far this year, was the first significant town to capitulate under Russia鈥檚 onslaught, after Russian forces captured and last year. Russian forces last month also took , in the same area.
The towns were part of a belt of Ukrainian defenses in the east. Russia鈥檚 other targets are the key logistics hub of and the strategically important city of .
Russia seeks to take control of all parts of Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk, which together make up Ukraine鈥檚 Donbas industrial region.
Russia in 2024 to a scale previously unseen in the war, using the glide bombs and an expanding network of airstrips, according to an Associated Press analysis last year of drone footage, satellite imagery, Ukrainian documents and Russian photos.
Meanwhile, the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog met Friday in Moscow with the chief of Russia鈥檚 state-owned nuclear energy provider Rosatom to discuss security around southern Ukraine鈥檚 Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said the situation around Europe鈥檚 biggest nuclear plant was 鈥渦nprecedented鈥 because it is 鈥渋n the middle of an active combat zone.鈥
In Kyiv on Tuesday, Grossi said there were 鈥渁 few occasions where we 鈥 with regard to the plant, which is under Russian occupation.
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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.
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