Russian Forces Capture Village in Eastern Ukraine as Shelling Kills Five Civilians

Russian forces have claimed control of another village in eastern Ukraine, continuing their advance amid ongoing conflict. On Saturday, the Russian defense ministry announced that they had “liberated the settlement of Zhelannoye Vtoroye,” located in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. The village, known as Zhelanne Druge in Ukrainian, is strategically positioned near Pokrovsk, a crucial logistics hub for Ukrainian forces.

In addition to these advances, Kyiv reported further civilian casualties caused by Russian shelling in both southern and eastern regions. Prosecutors in the Donetsk region confirmed the deaths of two civilians—a 65-year-old woman and an 86-year-old man—due to shelling in the city of Toretsk and the village of Velyka Novosilka.

In the Zaporizhzhia region, more lives were lost as governor Ivan Fyodorov reported the deaths of two men, aged 44 and 46, in the village of Mala Tokmachka following a Russian shelling attack.

Further north, in the Kharkiv region, a 49-year-old man was killed when a Russian drone struck the vehicle he was driving, according to local prosecutors.

While Ukrainian civilians suffered from Russian attacks, Russian-installed authorities in the city of Gorlivka and parts of the Zaporizhzhia region also reported several injuries from Ukrainian shelling and drone strikes.

Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia currently occupies 18 percent of the country. Despite facing significant setbacks throughout 2022, Russian forces maintained their positions in 2023 and have made notable gains in 2024, continuing their push against Ukraine’s often outnumbered and outgunned military.