Russia gains in Ukraine

THE Russian army overran three settlements in the southern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, Kyiv's top military commander said, as Moscow's forces expand their efforts to capture more Ukrainian territory.

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Dense fog enabled Russian troops to infiltrate Ukrainian positions in Zaporizhzhia, General Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on the messaging app Telegram, adding that Ukrainian units are locked in "gruelling battles" to repel the Russian thrust.

He noted, however, that the fiercest battles are still in the besieged Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donetsk region, where close to half of all frontline clashes took place over the previous 24 hours.

The cities of Kupiansk and Lyman in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region have also recently witnessed an uptick in combat.