In the night from Wednesday to Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had taken all of Izyum, a town southeast of Kharkiv.
The city of an estimated 45,000 inhabitants is strategically located in the country’s east and about 95 kilometres from the Russian border.
Russian forces have barely taken any cities since they invaded Ukraine on February 24. In the south, the large city of Kherson has been in Russian hands since March 2.
Russia states that it is not the aim of “the military operation” to capture and occupy cities. Instead, according to President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine must be eliminated militarily and far-right groups.