Russian forces have gained control of the Kirove settlement, known in Ukraine as Verezamske, in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, the defense ministry said on Saturday.

Donetsk is one of four Ukrainian regions which Russia says it has annexed even though it does not fully control all of them, a territorial claim which Kyiv and the West have rejected as illegal and one which Ukraine has vowed to reverse by force.

Russia has been making incremental gains in the region at a time when Ukrainian troops seek to advance in Russia's Kursk region after a surprise cross-border attack that began on Aug. 6.

Separately, the defense ministry said in a bulletin about developments in Russia's Kursk region that its forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks there, including towards settlements of Korenevo and Malaya Loknya.

Russian officials have said Kyiv's attack on the Kursk region will fail to divert Russian forces away from the east of Ukraine where they are still advancing.

The officials also say Ukraine's foray into Russian territory will ensnare thousands of its troops in a new front which has little strategic or tactical importance.