In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on January 26, 2025, Russian servicemen prepare a "Orlan-10" drone in an undisclosed location in Ukraine
RUSSIA has claimed that its troops had captured Velyka Novosilka, a strategically important town in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian Defence Ministry announced the fall of Velyka Novosilka, which had around 5,000 residents before Russia’s “special military operation” began.
If confirmed, it would make Velyka Novosilka the first significant town to fall to the Russian’s during 2025 in a war that is set to reach its three-year milestone in February.
According to a statement from the 110th Separate Mechanised Brigade, Ukrainian forces claim that they have only withdrawn from certain parts of Velyka Novosilka to avoid encirclement.
Analysts have long predicted that it was only a matter of time before Russian forces captured the town, which lies only nine miles from the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region.
Russia captured the Donetsk cities of Avdiivka and Vuhledar last year.
The Ukrainians are struggling with a lack of manpower to fight the Russians and a dwindling supply of military hardware.
Kiev relies on the US for 40 per cent of its military needs but the new administration of President Donald Trump has questioned whether his country will continue to provide assistance to the Ukrainians.
Mr Trump has stressed his intention to quickly broker a deal to end the fighting, without any realistic proposals detailing how he plans to achieve this.
