PM Kyiv time on July 26, there were 69 combat clashes along the front line with Russian forces. The hottest areas remain the Pokrovsk and Lyman directions, which accounted for more than half of all engagements,

Earlier on Friday, Russia’s Ministry of Defence announced the capture of two villages on either side of Pokrovsk – Zvirove to the west and Novoekonomichne to the east. A third village – Novotoretske – near Pokrovsk was declared “liberated” by Moscow earlier this week.

Russian strikes across Ukraine killed at least 12 civilians and injured more than 120 others. In the eastern Donetsk oblast, or province, systematic shelling and glide bombs killed six non-combatants and wounded 44 others.