DONETSK – Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Bohdanivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement on April 21.

Control of Bohdanivka, located just to the west of the Russian-held city of Bakhmut, has been in doubt for some time.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, in its evening report on April 21, mentioned Bohdanivka as one of a series of villages where Ukrainian forces repelled 13 enemy attacks. But it gave no specific details.

Ukraine’s Defence Ministry denied last week that Russia had captured all of Bohdanivka, while acknowledging it had lost some positions in the village in eastern Donetsk region.

Unofficial Ukrainian sources have suggested that Bohdanivka is in Russian hands, based on video footage of the village and the town of Chasiv Yar, to the south-west.

Ukraine has focused attention on defending Chasiv Yar, describing it as an important post in keeping the Russians from advancing westwards through Donetsk region to the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

Major Maksym Zhorin, a commander on the front line in the area, said on national television on April 21 that all positions around Chasiv Yar were under full Ukrainian control.

Bakhmut was captured by Russian troops in May 2023 after months of fierce fighting that levelled what was once a city of about 70,000. REUTERS