🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
The pro-Russia, so-called Donetsk People's Republic has taken fortified positions that were held by Ukrainian forces until recently, images purport to show.
The footage was obtained from the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) along with a statement on Friday, saying that they had "knocked out Ukrainian forces from fortified positions, from where they had shelled residential areas of Gorlovka."
Gorlovka is the Russian name for the city of Horlivka, which is located in the Donetsk Oblast of eastern Ukraine.
An unnamed spokesperson for the DPR also said: "We are in a position that a month ago was Ukrainian."
Zenger News has not been able to independently verify the claims or the footage, and has contacted the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) representatives for further comment, as well as the Russian and the Ukrainian Defense Ministries.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is calling a "special military operation." Friday marks the 121st day of the invasion.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and June 24, Russia had lost about 34,530 personnel, 1,507 tanks, 3,637 armored combat vehicles, 759 artillery units, 241 multiple launch rocket systems, 99 air defense systems, 216 warplanes, 183 helicopters, 622 drones, 137 cruise missiles, 14 warships, 2,553 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 60 units of special equipment.
The European Union on Thursday approved Ukraine's application to become a candidate for admission to the bloc, which is currently made up of 27 countries. The decision has been hailed in Brussels and Kyiv as a "historic moment," with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky saying that "Ukraine's future is in the EU."
The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, warned Russia might stop supplying gas to Europe this winter. Several European countries have already received less Russian gas than expected in the last few weeks, with European imports of natural gas from Russia dropping from approximately 40 percent to 20 percent.
Germany has taken a step closer to gas rationing after a drop in supplies from Russia.
British intelligence has estimated that the pro-Russian, so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) has lost 55 percent of its original forces.
U.S. intelligence has revealed that Russia is mining the Black Sea ports of Odesa and Ochakiv to throttle Ukraine's ability to export grain.
Russia is now thought to control all of the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, apart from the Azot chemical plant.
Ukrainian officials have said there are currently no safe towns for civilians in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine as fighting intensifies.
This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.
