Russia enters key area

RUSSIA'S invading forces have broken into an eighth region of Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said, seeking to capture more ground in their three-year war of attrition as United States-led peace efforts struggle to gain traction.

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Some Russian troops have entered the villages of Novoheorhiivka and Zaporizke in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, a major Ukrainian industrial centre next to the Donetsk region where fierce fighting has been taking place, Victor Trehubov, spokesman for local ground forces, told The Associated Press.

Russia's Defence Ministry claimed earlier this month that its forces had taken the two villages.

But the Russians have not entrenched or built fortifications there, and fighting is continuing in the villages, Mr Trehubov said.