Russia claims troops are in last stages of taking another eastern Ukraine town

A Ukrainian serviceman of Azov brigade stands atop a self-propelled howitzer Dita after firing towards Russian positions in the Donetsk region, Ukraine (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

Russia’s Defence Ministry has claimed that Russian troops have fought their way into the centre of a strategically important eastern Ukraine town and raised the Russian flag there after a months-long battle.

The Russian soldiers were still fighting Ukrainian defenders left in Velyka Novosilka, which had around 5,000 residents before the war, according to the ministry on Friday.