Russia’s Defense Ministry is claiming that its forces have captured the coal mining town of Toretsk, their latest breakthrough in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where Ukrainian defenses are creaking.

Russian forces have taken control of the city of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Friday. Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield report. Russia calls the city by its Soviet-era name of Dzerzhynsk and says Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region is now part of Russia,

The centre of Toretsk is almost completely under Russian control, according to the DeepState project. Fighting continues in the city, where some areas remain under Ukrainian control. Intense battles for Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast,

Russia on Friday said that its forces had taken control of the strategic coal-mining city of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine, a claim Ukraine’s military denied. Russia called the city, which had a pre-war population of around 30,

Russia said Friday its forces had seized the mining town of Toretsk in east Ukraine after months of heavy fighting, allowing Moscow to push further into the Donbas region. Kyiv denied Russia had full control of the industrial hub.