Ukraine War Maps Show Russian Gains as 'Ghost Village' Taken

Russia is advancing in eastern Ukraine, including into a key town in the country's Donetsk region, new maps indicate, as Moscow claims to have seized a handful of settlements along the hundreds of miles of front lines.

Maps produced by the U.S. think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), accurate as of 3 p.m. ET on Monday, suggest Russia has gained territory at several points along the front line in Donetsk in recent days.

Geolocated footage from earlier this month indicates Moscow has advanced in the east of the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar and to the south of the settlement, the ISW evaluated.

Ukraine's military has said Russia hopes to capture Chasiv Yar, a key town for Ukraine's defenses in Donetsk. Chasiv Yar sits west of Bakhmut, which Russia has controlled for more than a year.

A map produced by popular Ukrainian war blog, Deep State, indicated on Monday that Russia had seized the village of Ivanivske, southeast of Chasiv Yar.

However, Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian forces operating around Chasiv Yar, told Ukrainian media on Tuesday that Russia had not captured the village. Ukraine's General Staff said in a statement at 4 p.m. local time on Tuesday that three clashes were ongoing around Chasiv Yar and the village of Klishchiivka, south of Ivanivske.

Further south, Moscow has made gains to the northwest and southwest of Avdiivka—a former Ukrainian stronghold in Donetsk that Russia captured in February—the ISW said.

Separately on Tuesday, Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces had seized Synkivka, a village in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

Russia launched a new offensive into the Kharkiv region in early May, yet Ukraine reported intensified Russian efforts to capture territory further south in Donetsk. Kyiv has said Russia hoped to overstretch Ukrainian resources to advance west in the Donetsk region.

The Deep State map indicated that Russian troops were close to Synkivka, bearing down from the north and east. Another Ukrainian war account described Synkivka, located close to the Kharkiv city of Kupiansk, as a "ghost village."

Russian troops took control of Miasozharivka, a village in the eastern Luhansk region, Moscow also said on Tuesday.

Ukrainian sources report the settlement was previously referred to as Artemivka. Russia has annexed the city of Luhansk, although it does not entirely control the region.

Russia's Defense Ministry had said on Monday that it had taken control of Staromaiorske, a Donetsk village southwest of the Russian-controlled regional capital, Donetsk City.

Footage geolocated to Staromaiorske from Monday indicates Russia controls the settlement, the ISW said. However, although Moscow recently advanced southwest of Donetsk City, "Ukrainian forces appear to have successfully counterattacked and regained lost positions," the think tank said.

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