Russia on Sunday claimed its troops had captured a strategically important town in eastern Ukraine, as part of a grinding campaign to weaken Kyiv’s grip on the country’s industrial heartland

Russia’s Defense Ministry claims that Russian troops have fought their way into the center of a strategically important eastern Ukraine town and raised the Russian flag there after a monthslong battle.

Velyka Novosilka is close to the southern front line in Ukraine– which has remained largely static but where fears of a fresh Russian offensive have risen for weeks.