Russian forces have reportedly taken control of the town of Lozovatsky in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. They also claim to have defeated six brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in several settlements in the region. Kyiv has yet to comment on these allegations.

An air alert was declared once again in several areas of eastern Ukraine tonight, as reported by local media. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke about the challenging situation on the eastern front. Ukrainian air defenses successfully shot down four attack drones and one missile fired by Russia overnight, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. "All targets were shot down by the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Dnipro, Poltava, Kharkiv, and Kyiv regions," the statement noted.

Army data indicates that over 100 clashes occurred on the front in the past 24 hours, with more than a third of these skirmishes happening in the Pokrovsk area of the Donetsk region. In his video address, President Zelensky discussed the reinforcement of Ukrainian positions in this critical area:

"Together with the Minister of Defense and the military command, we are analyzing in detail the situation in the complex directions and above all near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. It is this direction that is and remains the main point of Russian attacks. Everything must be done and will be done to strengthen our positions and our ability to inflict substantial losses on the occupier."

Earlier reports from Ukrainian media indicated a missile attack on a military airport in Crimea, annexed by Russia since 2014. As of now, the Ukrainian side has not provided further details about the attack, and there have been no comments from the Russian side.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that air defense systems intercepted 21 Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk region in less than three hours last night. Additionally, the governors of the Kursk and Voronezh regions have announced threats of drone attacks.