MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday its forces had captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine, including one in Dnipropetrovsk region where Moscow says its troops have begun to make advances. Ukrainian forces made no acknowledgement that the villages had changed hands, but reported heavy fighting.

"The situation in Chasiv Yar is the same as in recent months. Russia is simply lying again, precisely so that the claim spreads through refutations," said Viktor Tregubov, spokesperson of the Khortytsia group of forces,

Russia’s announcement on Thursday that it had captured Chasiv Yar marks yet another blow for Kyiv after months of accumulating setbacks across the sprawling front line in eastern and southern Ukraine.