MOSCOW >> Russian forces have seized another village in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, the Defense Ministry said in Moscow today.

The Russian Army Group Center had taken Sokil, a village lying about 19 miles northwest of Donetsk city, improving its tactical position, the report said. There was no immediate comment from the Ukrainian side.

The village, which had a population of a couple dozen in a census taken 20 years ago, lies to the east of Pokrovsk, which is seen as a possible target of the Russian advance.

Russian forces have been advancing along the front since the fall of Avdiivka on the outskirts of Donetsk city in February.

In overnight drone attacks, Russia disrupted electricity and water supplies in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia had attacked 12 Ukrainian regions, with 24 of 32 drones shot down.

In Kyiv a residence and a vehicle were damaged by falling debris from an intercepted drone.

Ukrainian forces attacked the southern Russian region of Krasnodar, which has become a frequent target for Ukraine, with drones.

The drones were shot down, but their debris set fire to fuel depots in the Pavlovskaya and Leningradskaya districts and damaged a radio tower in the town of Yeysk, the regional crisis team said in a statement.

In recent months, Kyiv has hit not only military targets but also fuel storage facilities and transport hubs to increase Russia’s logistical challenges in waging its invasion.

Late on Friday, the Ukrainian military governor of the Donetsk region, Vadym Filashkin, said at least five people had been killed in a Russian attack with two guided bombs on the city of Selydove about 22 miles northwest of Russian-occupied Donetsk city.

At least 11 people were injured in the attack, Filashkin and the public prosecutor’s office said in separate statements on social media. The bombs had targeted the premises of a company, it said.

Russian forces recently reported taking part of Chasiv Yar due north of Donetsk city. Independent bloggers have confirmed the reports, while insisting that the town as a whole is not under threat.

Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion since it was ordered by President Vladimir Putin more than two years ago.

There is no end to the war in sight. Among other things, Putin wants Ukraine to completely relinquish the territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya and Crimea as a condition for an end to the fighting.

Kyiv meanwhile insists on Russia’s complete withdrawal from all occupied territories, including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Putin reiterated again on Thursday that he would never declare a cease-fire in Ukraine without Kyiv meeting his preconditions.

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Deutsche Presse-Agentur story distributed by Tribune Content Agency.