Ukraine says Russian troops pressing ahead in Donetsk

"As far as Ocheretyne is concerned, the enemy has broken through and has established itself in this village," the spokesman of the Khortytsya army group fighting in this section, Nazar Voloshyn, told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

However, he added that the corresponding part of the town was being shelled by Ukrainian artillery and the Ukrainian troops were trying to push Russian forces back.

"With this goal in mind, additional forces and resources were brought in from the reserve," he said.

Currently, the fiercest battles are raging in the front sections towards Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, he said, and while Russian forces had achieved tactical successes they had not yet gained an operational advantage.

His comments came after the Ukrainian General Staff reported fierce fighting and a total of 121 battles over the past 24 hours.

Russia is still trying to take over the whole of the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk.

Parts of Donetsk and Luhansk have been under the control of Russian-backed separatists since the spring of 2014.

They are among four Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday that Russia has intensified strikes on Ukraine's infrastructure to hamper its ability to move arms and troops, slow defence production and force it to consider negotiations.

"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin's increasingly aggressive tactics against Ukraine, such as strikes on Ukraine's electricity infrastructure, are intended to impress Ukraine that continuing to fight will only increase the damage to Ukraine and offer no plausible path to victory," she said.

"These aggressive tactics are likely to continue and the war is unlikely to end anytime soon," Haines said.

with DPA

Australian Associated Press