Russia said on Monday it had made an important advance in eastern Ukraine although Russian war bloggers said Moscow's forces were continuing to fend off a Ukrainian attack inside Russia itself. The Russian defence ministry said its forces had captured the town of Kurakhove,

Russia said Monday its forces had captured the "important logistics hub" of Kurakhove in eastern Ukraine in what would be a key advance after months of steady gains in the area.

Russia said on Monday its forces had made important gains in eastern Ukraine while continuing to fend off a new Ukrainian offensive inside the Kursk region of western Russia, where a second day of fierce fighting was under way.