The Russian army has advanced a further 12 kilometres into eastern Ukraine and reached the border of the settlement of Nikolske near Mariupol, says Russian Ministry of Defence spokesman Igor Konashenkov, according to the news agency Interfax.
There was no confirmation from the Ukrainian side. In a post on Facebook, the Ukrainian general staff said that Russia is mobilizing troops in the areas of Luhansk and Donetsk.
The self-proclaimed independent republics of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine have enjoyed the support of Russia since 2014.
Prior to the Russian invasion on February 24, the republics only covered a portion of the territory of the oblasts, or administrative divisions, of Luhansk and Donetsk. Seizing these areas in their entirety is one of the aims of Moscow in the invasion.
The Russian Ministry of Defence also says the Russian army has now destroyed 214 drones, 1,438 tanks and armoured vehicles, 150 rocket launchers, 584 artillery guns and 1,279 vehicles of the Ukrainian army since the start of the invasion. These numbers could not be independently verified.
