Russia says it has taken Pobieda village in Donetsk region, Ukraine reports fighting

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian troops have taken the village of Pobieda in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, the Russian defence ministry said on Thursday, but the Ukrainian military said its forces were repelling dozens of attacks in the area.

Pobieda is a village south of Maryinka, a town that has been all but levelled by months of clashes.

Russia’s defence ministry said it had taken Pobieda and improved its position in several other areas of the Donetsk region.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, in its evening report on Facebook, said its troops “continue to contain the enemy” around Pobieda and a nearby village, Novomykhailivka.

“The enemy, with the support of aviation, attempted to breach our troops’ defences 31 times,” the report said.

A widely read Ukrainian military blog, DeepState, reported that Russian forces had occupied Pobieda and were advancing on two other villages.

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports from either side.

(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Ron Popeski and Bernadette Baum)