Units of the Russian armed forces are moving forward with the special operation, having advanced up to 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) over the past 24 hours, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday.
"Units of the Russian armed forces advanced up to 14 kilometers over the past day. During offensive operations, the southern districts of the settlements of Blahodatne, Volodymyrivka, Pavlovka and Nikolske were put under control," Konashenkov said.
In addition, the spokesman noted that troops of the Luhansk People's Republic completely blocked the settlement of Borivske and consolidated their positions in the northern regions of the city of Popasna. According to Konashenkov, the LPR forces also blocked the eastern and southern parts of Severodonetsk.
On February 24, Russia began a special operation to demilitarize and 'denazify" Ukraine, responding to calls for help from the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics in countering the aggression of Ukrainian troops.
The Russian defense ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger.
Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.
