Russia says captured Ukraine's front-line town, a stepping stone to Pokrovsk

Kyiv’s army said on Tuesday there was still active fighting in Kurakhove, a strategic town in Ukraine’s east that Russia said it had seized the previous day.

Moscow hailed the capture of the “important logistics hub”, saying it would enable Russian forces to seize the rest of the eastern Donetsk region “at an accelerated pace”.

But the Ukrainian army on Tuesday reported “active” fighting in the “urban area of Kurakhove” and said it was repelling Russian attacks “near” the town.

“In the Kurakhove sector, the defence forces are countering the enemy’s attempts to use their superiority in manpower and develop an offensive,” Ukraine’s Khortytsia army unit said on social media.

The unit is fighting in that area of the front.

“The enemy actively conducted assault operations in the urban area of Kurakhove,” it said, adding: “Measures to localise and destroy enemy assault groups that have infiltrated our combat formations are underway.”

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Kurakhove had a pre-conflict population of around 18,000 people. It is home to a power station, is located near a reservoir and has a major lithium deposit.

Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces had “repelled 26 attacks” in the area, including “near” Kurakhove.

Russia’s troops have been advancing in the eastern Donetsk region – that Moscow claimed to have annexed in 2022 – for months.

Both sides are trying to secure fresh territory ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump returning to office later this month.

The incoming US Republican has vowed to bring swift peace to the nearly three-year war but has not outlined a concrete plan.

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Ukraine’s military also said on Tuesday it had killed 13 North Korean soldiers fighting in Russia’s western Kursk region.

Russia said Ukraine launched a fresh “counter-attack” there over the weekend, five months after it first seized dozens of border settlements in a shock cross-border offensive.

Pyongyang has sent more than 10,000 troops to support Russia’s army, according to Western, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence.

Ukraine’s Special Operations forces said five North Koreans had been killed in a gun battle and eight in drone attacks.