Russian troops are advancing in the eastern fronts and regroup to repel incursion

Russia said on Tuesday its forces had taken control of what it called the strategically important New York (Novhorodske) in Donetsk region, which is considered as a logistics hub in eastern Ukraine, part of Moscow’s campaign to seize control of the entire Donetsk region.

Ukrainian forces are seeking to advance in Russia’s Kursk region after a surprise cross-border offensive that began on Aug. 6, but the fate of New York (Novhorodske), is a reminder that Russian forces are still pressing ahead with their offensive in eastern Ukraine.

Russia separately announced the formation of new military groups in Kursk and two other border areas in an attempt to repel the incursion without diverting forces from the front lines deeper into Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said a new coordination body had already started working around the clock to coordinate between regional authorities, troop commanders and the Defense Ministry.

However, the timing of his announcement, two weeks after Ukrainian forces stormed Russia’s western border, highlights Moscow’s belated response to the situation.

He didn’t say why such smooth coordination hadn’t been possible before.

Ukrainian military commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Tuesday his forces had pushed 28-35 km (17-22 miles) into Russian territory and captured 1,263 square km (400 square miles) of territory, including 93 settlements.

Meanwhile, Russia has vowed to crush the incursion but has shown no sign of moving closer to dislodging Ukrainian forces.

The operation has boosted Ukraine’s morale, and Kiev believes that seizing territory and capturing Russian prisoners will strengthen its position in any potential negotiations.

But independent military analysts say Kyiv has risked pulling some of its most effective combat units away from defending the front lines in eastern Ukraine, where Russia continues to advance.

If Ukraine asserts Russian control over the New York (Novhorodske), it would be another incremental success for Russia and could open the door to potentially significant strategic gains.

New York (Novhorodske) has been devastated by heavy Russian bombardment, which has used drones to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions.

The town lies on the railway line to Sloviansk, a Donetsk town that Moscow has long sought to control, and it had a pre-war population of about 10,000, thousands of whom have since fled the fighting.

Donetsk is one of four regions that Russia annexed.

Russian state television correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny, who survived a Ukrainian drone attack on his car this month, said taking New York (Novhorodske), would allow Russian forces to move closer to cutting off the Pokrovsk-Kostiantynivka highway that supplies the Ukrainian army in the east.

The Ukrainian General Staff said on Facebook that 14 combat engagements had been reported in Toretsk and 34 in the Pokrovsk sector since the beginning of the day.

Ukraine has yet to confirm whether the New York Center has fallen into Russian hands.

The Ukrainian General Staff acknowledged that Russian forces launched attacks near the New York, but said Ukrainian forces had given a deserved response.

Ukrainian officials said Russia also hit energy infrastructure in northern Ukraine in a missile and drone attack overnight, causing a massive fire in the west of the country and increasing levels of chlorine gas in the air.

Russia said it had summoned a senior US diplomat in Moscow to protest what it called provocative actions by US journalists who crossed the border from Ukraine into the Kursk region to cover events there.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it also protested what it said was new evidence showing the involvement of US private military companies in Ukraine’s invasion of Russian territory, without citing the evidence.