The Russian military says the capture of New York is unconfirmed in eastern Ukraine

Russian forces say they have captured a small town in eastern Ukraine called New York, as part of their campaign against densely populated areas in the Donetsk region.

The Ukrainian military did not confirm the loss of New York, saying Russian forces attacked near the city and other areas. The army was giving the attack “the right decision… and fighting continues”, it said.

Although it is only a small area, controlling Niu-York will represent another step towards the two Donetsk regions of Toretsk and Pokrovsk.

One of the aims of Ukraine’s seizure of territory in Russia’s Kursk region is thought to be to force Russia to withdraw some of its forces from the eastern campaign.

There is no sign so far of that happening, despite the fact that Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi now wants to control 93 Russian towns and cities.

President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation in the east as difficult, but said that the Ukrainian military was doing everything possible to destroy Russian forces. A military official told the forum that Russia will send more troops to the war in the east.

The statement of the Ministry of Defense of Russia said that the operation of the units of the army group Center defeated the Ukrainian army, calling New York “one of the largest settlements of the Toretsk crowd and the most important transport base”. It also renamed the city by the Russian name Novgorodskoye.

Russian war correspondents shared photos late Monday of a Russian tricolor flag hanging from the roof of a school in New York and a Ukrainian flag lying on the ground.

However, the video went viral two weeks ago and Ukrainian forces blew up the flag and damaged the roof with a drone on August 8.

New York is south of the mining town of Toretsk, and Russian troops on Monday said they recaptured Zalizne, southeast of Toretsk.

Ukrainian forces said they were still fighting in Zalizne and local sources were quoted as saying they still have control over 20% of New York, although they have far fewer strongholds than the Russians.

On Monday, Ukrainian authorities ordered the evacuation of Pokrovsk, as Russian troops continued to advance on the city.

According to a military briefing on Tuesday, Russia directed more than a third of its 87 airstrikes during the day towards Pokrovsk. Local officials say Russian troops are now far from the outskirts of the city.

Regional head Vadym Filashkin said 53,000 people still live in Pokrovsk, including nearly 4,000 children.

The Ukrainian commander-in-chief said that the offensive in the Kursk region of Russia has now extended to 28-35km across the border, with 1,263 sq km under the control of Ukraine and 93 territories.

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said that three new military units have been established to combat Ukrainian operations in three border areas, Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk.

Their job will be to protect “citizens and areas from attack” from drones and other means of attack.

Russian officials downplayed the success of Ukraine’s operations in the Kursk region.

Maj Gen Apti Alaudinov, commander of Chechnya’s Akhmat special forces unit, told Russian TV that Ukrainian forces had suffered heavy losses.

When asked to respond to the reports that three bridges over the River Seym were blown up, cutting off the exit and supply routes, he said “the fact that there is a bridge that has been blown up does not mean anything”.

However, state news agency Tass says local police are now having to use privately owned boats to take residents to safety because the bridges have collapsed.

German photographer Nanna Heitmann said she spoke to Russian people in the region who were angry that the country’s media was not giving us the full picture: “They are shocked, angry. Many people are waiting, thousands of people are waiting in lines to get shelter, to get basic needs like blankets, pillows etc.”

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who appeared to be wrong-footed by the Ukraine scandal, compared it on Tuesday to the 2004 school massacre by Chechen soldiers in Beslan in which more than 300 people were killed.

When he visited the school and the mothers of the victims in North Ossetia, he said “just as we were fighting terrorists before, now we are fighting those who commit crimes in Kursk region, Donbas and Novorossiya”, using the old name of the Russian state. in the settlements of Ukraine.

Additional report by BBC Verify