Russia’s Defense Ministry is claiming that its forces have captured the mining town of Toretsk, their latest breakthrough in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where Ukrainian defenses are creaking.

According to Russian military bloggers, Ukrainian forces attacked southeast of Sudzha, advancing toward the settlements of Fanaseevka and Ulanok.

It came as Russia and Ukraine swapped 150 prisoners of war each and UK foreign secretary David Lammy met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. A series of drone attacks by Ukraine on Russia's energy facilities have sparked fires in recent days at a major oil refinery in the Volgograd region,