Russian forces continue to make costly but consistent gains in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. They are steadily grinding down a pocket of resistance around the town of Kurakhove and are also fighting to envelop the larger nearby city of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian soldiers and officials said.

Ukraine first launched its incursion into Russia's Kursk region in August last year, seizing a large chunk of territory. In recent months, Russian forces have made big gains in th

Russian shelling, meanwhile, killed at least one person and wounded another in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, local officials said.