Russia claims capture of two villages near Kramatorsk as Ukraine reports 24 attacks repelled

Russian claims in Donetsk

Russia's Defence Ministry announced on Sunday, August 9, that its forces had seized two villages in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. The "South" group of forces captured Vasyutinske, located 8 kilometres southeast of Kramatorsk and 12 kilometres south of Sloviansk, while the "Centre" group took Toretsk, situated about 20 kilometres south of Kramatorsk and southwest of Druzhkivka. The announcement was made via Telegram and reported by the state-run RIA news agency. Ukrainian forces made no acknowledgement of the two settlements changing hands, and the reports could not be independently verified.

Kramatorsk and Sloviansk are the last bastions in Donetsk remaining under Ukrainian control. Their eventual capture would mean total Russian control of the Donetsk region, which Moscow annexed in 2022. Russia continues to advance slowly westward through Donetsk, though positions along the approximately 1,200-kilometre frontline have shifted relatively little in recent months.

Frontline developments

The Ukrainian war-monitoring blog DeepState, which tracks frontline positions using open-source reports, recorded Russian advances near Illinivka, outside the contested city of Kostiantynivka, and near Chasiv Yar, west of Bakhmut. Bakhmut fell to Russian forces in 2023 after months of heavy fighting.

The Ukrainian military's General Staff said in a late evening report on Sunday that Kyiv's forces had repelled 24 attacks around Kostiantynivka, Illinivka and other centres in the region. Russian commanders claimed last month that their forces had seized Kostiantynivka, but Ukrainian officials have disputed that claim. The fighting around Kostiantynivka is closely watched because a breakthrough there could put pressure on Ukrainian defences in the direction of Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka.

Mandatory evacuations near Kramatorsk

On Wednesday, August 5, Ukrainian authorities ordered the mandatory evacuation of minors from certain territories in the Kramatorsk area, citing the advance of Russian forces. Vadim Filashkin, head of the Donetsk regional military administration, said the order covers 525 minors from 424 families, who will be evacuated together with their legal guardians.

It is a difficult but necessary decision. The situation is deteriorating, so it is unacceptable to leave children under the constant threat of Russian bombardment. I ask parents not to delay, but to facilitate the work of the evacuation teams.

Ukrainian drone strike on Belgorod

In a separate development, authorities in Russia's border region of Belgorod reported that a Ukrainian drone attack overnight left five people dead and 25 wounded, including two minors. Authorities had initially reported three deaths, a woman and two men. The toll rose after the body of a man was found during the clearing of rubble from a building that had caught fire, and another man in extremely grave condition died in hospital despite doctors' efforts.

Zelenskiy's nightly address

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address on Sunday, made no reference to changes in frontline positions. He singled out for praise Ukrainian forces fighting in specific areas, notably Dobropillia, Kostiantynivka and Kramatorsk. While Moscow presents local advances as frontline progress, Kyiv emphasises the resistance of its forces and the repulsion of Russian attacks. Without independent confirmation, the exact extent of the territorial changes announced by Russia remains unclear.