The capture of the frontline town of Selydove located about 18km southeast of Pokrovsk is the latest gain for Russia, which has taken large swathes of territory in the Donetsk region in recent months.

“As a result of successful operations…the town of Selidovo in the Donetsk region is fully liberated”, the defence ministry said, using the Russian spelling for Selydove.

The announcement came shortly after Moscow claimed the capture of two nearby villages, Bogoyavlenka and Katerynivka, and the small town of Girnyk, which are all located south of Selydove and near the Ukrainian-held industrial town of Kurakhove.

Selydove had around 20,000 inhabitants before Russia launched its offensive.

The Russian army took 478sq km of Ukrainian territory in October, a record since the first weeks of the conflict in March 2022, according to an AFP analysis of data from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).