Moscow's forces have captured Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk region and about to gain Toretsk, according to reports.

with a map showing the current state of play in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast. Following months of fierce fighting that have seen huge Russian losses, Ukraine announced that it had retreated from Avdiivka.

Russia has been steadily gaining in Ukraine but has focused its efforts on advancing in the country's eastern Donetsk region.

It is also a key route linking towns further east to the rest of unoccupied Ukraine. It is the second ... situation on the battlefield in Donetsk Oblast, to advance narratives that Russian ...