Russian troops have occupied more than 300 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory this year, according to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
"Last week, the Ukrainian armed forces were driven out of the villages of Pobyeda, Lastochkyne and Severne," Shoigu said at a meeting of the ministry in Moscow on Tuesday.
He put the area gained by the Russian army since the beginning of the year at 327 square kilometres.
The figures could not initially be independently verified.
On Monday, the Ukrainian army announced a retreat to new defence positions west of the industrial city of Avdiivka, which had been captured by Russia after months of fierce fighting. According to a spokesman for troops in the south-east, Dmytro Lykhoviy, the new defensive line is to run along the villages of Berdychi, Orlivka and Tonenke.
Shoigu was confident of victory after the storming of Avdiivka. Russian troops had improved their tactical positions both in the area and in the north of Ukraine near the district town of Kupjansk, he said.
Ukraine has been losing 800 soldiers a day since the beginning of the year, he added. Total Ukrainian losses since the beginning of the war amounted to 444,000 soldiers, according to Shoigu.
The statements cannot be verified independently. Most recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky put the number of Ukrainian losses at 31,000.
