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ConflictsUkraine

Ukraine updates: Russia claims new advance in Donetsk region

Published July 28, 2024last updated July 28, 2024

Moscow said it captured two villages in eastern Ukraine, which had been fought over for months. Meanwhile, Russia also said an oil depot in the Kursk region caught fire after a Ukrainian drone strike. DW has the latest.

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Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery from their combat position in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine on July 26, 2024
Russia aims to completely occupy the annexed, but not fully controlled, Ukrainian territories of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and DonetskImage: Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu/picture alliance
Skip next section What you need to know

What you need to know

Russia said its forces had captured two villages in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry said troops had taken control of the neighboring villages of Prohres and Yevgenivka, a few kilometers apart.

Russia on Saturday claimed the nearby village of Lozuvatske, one of nearly a dozen it says it has captured in the Donetsk region this month.

Meanwhile, three tanks at an oil storage depot in Russia's Kursk region caught fire as a result of a drone attack launched from Ukraine, acting regional Governor Alexei Smirnov said on Sunday.

These updates regarding the latest developments from Russia's war in Ukraine from July 28, 2024, are now closed.

Skip next section Ukrainians remember Olenivka prison explosion two years on
July 28, 2024

Ukrainians remember Olenivka prison explosion two years on

People attend a rally demanding to free Ukrainian prisoners of war who are held in captivity in Russia, at Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 28, 2024
Thousands gathered in Independence Square in Kyiv for the rallyImage: Efrem Lukatsky/AP/picture alliance

A ceremony to remember the more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were killed in an explosion at a prison barracks in Olenivka two years ago, drew several thousand soldiers and civilians to Kyiv's Independence Square on Sunday.

"I was there in Olenivka. I was rocked by the explosion," said Kyrylo Masalitin, who was later released. "Never before have I felt so helpless. And those still in captivity feel that helplessness every day."

Both sides have blamed each other for the explosion.

The rally called on the Ukrainian government to do more to get Russia to release more prisoners of war.

Some of those gathered were also protesting the continued Russian imprisonment of Ukrainian soldiers of the Azov Battalion who were taken captive when Russia conquered the city of Mariupol.

"We're here to remember those who died and also those in captivity. We're here to push our government to work hard on this," a soldier who identified himself as Stanislav told the Associated Press.
 

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Skip next section Putin vows 'mirror measures' in response to U.S. missiles in Germany
July 28, 2024

Putin vows 'mirror measures' in response to U.S. missiles in Germany

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday threatened to relaunch production of intermediate-range nuclear weapons if the United States deploys missiles to Germany.

"If the United States carries out such plans, we will consider ourselves liberated from the unilateral moratorium previously adopted on the deployment of medium- and short-range strike capabilities," Putin said during a naval parade in Saint Petersburg.

Putin added that "the development of a number of such systems is in the final stages".

"We will take mirror measures in deploying them, taking into account the actions of the US, its satellites in Europe and other regions of the world," he warned.

The missiles were the subject of an arms control treaty signed by the US and the Soviet Union in 1987.

But both Washington and Moscow withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, each accusing the other of violations.

Russia later said it would not restart production of such missiles as long as the United States did not deploy missiles abroad.

Earlier this month, Washington and Berlin announced that the "episodic deployments" of long-range US missiles, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, to Germany would begin in 2026. 

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Skip next section Russia says drone attack caused fire at oil depot in Kursk region
July 28, 2024

Russia says drone attack caused fire at oil depot in Kursk region

Ukraine on Sunday said it struck an oil depot in the Kursk region of southern Russia that supplies the Kremlin's troops involved in the invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine's General Staff said in a statement that the attack, close to the border with Ukraine's Sumy province, prompted "powerful explosions and a fire, probably involving containers with oil products."

"The defense forces continue to take all measures to undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian occupiers and force the Russian Federation to stop its armed aggression against Ukraine," the statement added.

Firefighters were battling the blaze on Sunday morning after three fuel tanks went up in flames, according to acting regional Governor Alexey Smirnov. He said no one was hurt.

Russia said its air defense systems destroyed a total of seven drones launched by Ukraine overnight.

Five drones were destroyed over the Belgorod region and two over the Kursk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted oil depots and other military infrastructure inside Russian territory with drones and other weapons.

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Skip next section Russia claims two villages in Donetsk region
July 28, 2024

Russia claims two villages in Donetsk region

Russian troops have captured the eastern Ukrainian villages of Prohres and Yevhenivka, Russia's Defense Ministry said.

The pro-government Ukrainian military channel Deep State recently said on Telegram that Prohres, in the Donetsk region, had been occupied by Russian troops. 

The village had been fought over by Ukrainian and Russian troops for three months.

The Kremlin has reported dozens of conquests since the start of the year in the annexed Luhansk and Donetsk regions as well as the Kharkiv region, which is predominantly controlled by Ukraine.

Russian troops are currently pushing towards the city of Pokrovsk, northwest of the regional capital.

The Ukrainian government does not normally confirm any territorial losses.

mm/wd (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa) 

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