Russia says its forces take control of Kirove in Ukraine's Donetsk region

Russian forces have gained control of Kirove settlement in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, the defence ministry said on Saturday.

Donetsk is one of four Ukrainian regions which Russia says it has annexed even though it does not fully control all of them, a territorial claim which Kyiv and the West have rejected as illegal and one which Ukraine has vowed to reverse by force.

Russia has been making incremental gains in the region at a time when Ukrainian troops seek to advance in Russia's Kursk region after a surprise cross-border attack that began on Aug. 6.