Russian forces are attacking positions in Luhansk and Donetsk, according to the Defence Ministry in Moscow, with a spokesperson saying on Saturday that soldiers had taken positions near two towns.
"In the Donetsk area, Russian units have continued their attacks and driven the enemy out of their fortified positions," ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said. He claimed positions had also been captured in the north between the small towns of Kreminna and Lyman.
However, Ukrainian missiles damaged a bus station and a school in the eastern city of Donetsk, according to Russian officials cited by the TASS news agency.
The Russian officials reported multiple missile strikes. There were no reports of victims.
For weeks, there have been reports that the Ukrainian army is on the defensive in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, and is trying to hold its line in front of the industrial city of Donetsk and east of the urban area between Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
There is fierce fighting in the area, particularly near the town of Bakhmut, with both sides reporting significant losses.
Russia unilaterally annexed the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya in September, despite protests by Ukraine and the West that the move violated international law.
Moscow does not have full control of all the regions and Ukraine recently freed further parts of them from Russian occupation.
Further north, however, Ukrainian troops still have the upper hand after forcing out Russian fighters from the Kharkiv region. Both sides are reporting reciprocal attacks on enemy positions in the area.
Observers also reported that Russian troops have built fortifications 60 kilometres long in the area up to the Russian state border.
Earlier, the head of the Russian State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, blamed Germany and France for the failure of a peace plan in eastern Ukraine that was upended by Russia's February invasion.
Volodin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, also demanded reparations payments from Germany and France in a post to the social messaging service Telegram on Saturday.
"Germany and France must pay compensation to residents of the Donbass region," Volodin wrote. "The current situation in Ukraine is a result of the mendacious policies of the leaders of these states."
Volodin accused the governments in Berlin and Paris of staging a "state overthrow" in Ukraine in 2014 under the guise of a peaceful transition of power amid protests in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.
Volodin went on to claim that neither Germany nor France planned to comply with the peace plans signed by the two countries along with Urkaine and Russia in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.
The Minsk peace plan for the east of Ukraine, which was under Russian influence, after the start of hostilities in 2014 provided for far-reaching obligations for the parties to the conflict. But most of the terms were never implemented. Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for this.
His comments came after Putin claimed on Friday that recent statements by former German chancellor Angela Merkel on Ukraine indicated that the Minsk agreement was signed only to give Ukraine time to arm itself and prepare for war with Russia.
Volodin repeated that assertion on Saturday.
"The pre-planned failure to fulfil the obligations assumed when signing an international treaty - this means not only a loss of confidence, but is a crime, for which the signatories of the Minsk Agreement - Merkel, [former French president Francois] Hollande and [former Ukrainian president Petro] Poroshenko - must be held accountable," he wrote.
Volodin went on to claim those figures are now also to blame for the energy crisis in Europe.
Russia has been attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure, with Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a deputy head of the presidential office, saying on Saturday that there would be no power in Odessa for the foreseeable future after Russian missile strikes.
"The repair work will take more time than usual," he posted on his Telegram channel, saying the attacks had shut the city down. However, he said it has been possible so far to keep key infrastructure operating, like hospitals, maternity wards and heating plants.
Odessa has taken the brunt of recent Russian attacks, though there were also attacks in the southern region of Kherson, which have also left thousands without power.
Despite Hungarian opposition, EU member states voted on Saturday to free up €18 billion ($19 billion) in loans to help Ukraine bear the costs of holding up under Russia's invasion, according to sources familiar with the talks.
Originally designed as an aid package that would have required unanimous support from all 27 European Union countries, it was redesigned as grants guaranteed by individual member states - as opposed to the EU budget - to get around Hungary's veto.
