Donetsk forces training at a shooting range

Ukraine has announced that Russia's forces have pushed deeper into the east of the country, capturing several villages.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that as part of Moscow's operation in Donbass, Kiev's army was driven out from Velyka Komyshuvakha and Zavody in the Kharkov region and had gained control over Zarichne and Novotoshkivske in the Donetsk region.

The acting commander of the Central Military District, Rustam Minnikaev, announced last Friday that the second phase of the special operation aims to establish control over Donbass and southern Ukraine.

Speaking at the annual general meeting of the Federation of Defense Industries in the Sverdlovsk region, Minnikaev said the second phase of the special operation [in Ukraine] aims to establish full control over Donbass and southern Ukraine to provide a land corridor to Crimea.

On March 25, the Russian Armed Forces completed the main tasks of the first phase of the special military operation in Ukraine, significantly limiting the combat capabilities of Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region.