Sawt Falasteen - Russia says advancing towards flashpoint Ukrainian city

The Russian defence ministry said its troops seized the village of Krymske in the northeastern suburbs of Toretsk, which is located in the eastern Donetsk region and has been the scene of intense fighting in recent months.

The Russian army is slowly but steadily advancing in Donetsk, despite heavy human and material losses.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian troops in the region said there were intense battles in urban areas of Toretsk and Chasiv Yar, a strategic hilltop military hub on the front line.

Russian forces have been fighting in the centre of the two contested cities for the past two months, according to DeepState, a group of Ukrainian military analysts.

Overnight, at least eight people died in Russian strikes on central and eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian authorities had issued air raid alerts for the entire country just before 7:00 am (0500 GMT) on Saturday, warning of missile and drone threats in several regions.

Ukrainian emergency services said on Telegram a "missile strike on a residential building" in Poltava had killed at least four people and wounded 13, three of them seriously.

They published images showing firefighters searching through the smouldering ruins of a building.

- War nears three-year mark -

In Kharkiv, a Russian drone shot down by air defence fell on a residential area, killing a woman and injuring four other people, regional governor Oleg Synegubov said on Telegram.

Russia also launched an air strike on a border municipality in the northeastern Sumy region, killing three police officers, the regional administration said.

Separate Russian attacks on the southern Kherson region killed two people, police said.

The Russian defence ministry said its overnight strikes had hit gas and energy infrastructure that supply Ukraine's "military-industrial complexes".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks showed his country needed more defence systems to protect itself from "Russian terror".

"Every air defence system, every anti-missile is a lifesaver. It is very important that our partners act... and increase pressure on Russia, " Zelensky said.

He added that damage had been reported in six regions -- Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Odesa, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia.

Earlier this week, Ukraine launched a major drone attack on western Russia, killing a child and his mother and a refinery on fire.

Russia's invasion will hit its three-year mark this month.

US President Donald Trump said during his election campaign he could end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office on January 20.

He has been critical of the amount Washington has spent arming Ukraine and has also threatened to impose additional sanctions on Russia.

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T.Samara--SF-PST