Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that its forces had captured two more villages in southeastern Ukraine amid escalating cross-border strikes.
In a statement posted on Telegram, the ministry said Russian troops took control of Pavlivka in the Zaporizhzhia region and Ivanivka in neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk.
It also claimed to have hit Ukrainian energy facilities in retaliation for attacks on Russian civilian targets.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged heavy overnight missile fire, intensifying a conflict that shows no sign of easing.
Ukrainian officials reported earlier on Wednesday that Russian strikes killed six people, including two children, in Kiev and surrounding areas, and caused widespread power outages across the country.
Ukraine’s military, separately, said it had struck a chemical plant in Russia’s Bryansk region using Franco-British Storm Shadow missiles, describing the attack as part of ongoing defensive operations.
Last week, Putin and Trump held a phone conversation and agreed to convene a summit in Hungary, which the Kremlin said could take place within weeks.
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Ambiguity
Diplomatic efforts to halt the fighting have stalled, and the White House said there were no imminent plans for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.