Russia's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that its forces had taken control of two settlements in eastern Ukraine, the latest gains in their drive to secure the Donbas region.
A ministry report said the villages of Zolota Nyva and Zoryane Pershe had been brought under Russian control. The communities have an estimated population of a few hundred residents each.
The two villages lie to the north and to the south of the town of Kurakhove, one of the focal points of military activity on the eastern front.
Official Ukrainian accounts of the fighting made no reference to control of either village being lost. But the Ukrainian General Staff acknowledged that the Kurakhove sector was the scene of the heaviest battles on the eastern front.