The Russian Defence Ministry said on Thursday its forces had captured another village in eastern Ukraine as it advances westward through the region of Donetsk more than three years into its invasion of its smaller neighbour.

A Russian strike on a town in Ukraine's embattled Donetsk region has killed at least 11 people as a wave of heavy aerial attacks continued into the second night following a U.S. decision to stop sharing satellite images with Ukraine.

Ukrainian troops are reportedly making gains along three parts of the front as Russian forces face a manpower shortage and poor command. One pro-Moscow military blogger has lamented how Ukrainian forces are exerting growing pressure on Russian troops in the Donetsk region, as a map shows the latest state of play.

Foreign secretary David Lammy has condemned the latest Russian strikes on Ukraine as “abhorrent”. The Foreign Secretary said the "barbaric aggression only strengthens our resolve" to support Kyiv, after further strikes over the weekend.

1/ Recent Russian setbacks in the Ukrainian city of Toretsk are being blamed by Russian warbloggers on a familiar problem – commanders lying about their successes and taking the city 'on credit' rather than in real life. https://t.co/miaQ48FLDj

When emergency workers arrived at the home of Tetyana Kulyk and her husband Pavlo Ivanchov shortly after it was hit by a Russian drone on Wednesday, all they could do was recover their charred bodies.

The three-year-long war is now at a critical juncture for Kyiv after Trump suspended US military aid following his public falling-out with Zelensky last week.

Russian forces have recaptured two settlements in the country's western Kursk region where Ukrainian troops broke across the border and seized a chunk of territory last August, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.