Moscow says its forces have liberated two towns in the Donetsk region

Defence authorities in Russia say they have ‘liberated’ two towns in the Donetsk region of Ukraine just as President Vladimir Putin approved plans to raise military spending to record levels as Moscow seeks to prevail in the war in Ukraine.

Servicemen also hit the infrastructure of Ukrainian military airfields, drone assembly shops, and warehouses over the day, local media reported.

According to the Russian Defence Ministry, some of the targets included the infrastructure of military airfields, drone assembly shops, and warehouses, as well as enemy manpower and equipment in 136 areas,” the defence ministry said.

On Sunday, the ministry released footage of what it said was its military personnel striking alleged camouflaged dugouts of the Ukrainian troops with FPV drones.

Russia’s defence ministry said a Starlink communication unit was also taken out in the raid. Euronews could not independently verify the footage.

The video, which showed drones in flight striking targets on the ground, comes as top EU officials visiting Ukraine promised more sanctions against Russia.

On the battlefront, Ukrainian officials said Moscow sent 78 drones into Ukraine overnight into Sunday. 32 of the drones were destroyed, and a further 45 drones were lost, likely having been electronically jammed, Ukraine’s air force said.

The Russian strikes killed at least 11 civilians across Ukraine and injured at least 51 people, regional authorities reported on 1 December.

Three of those deaths were reported in the southern city of Kherson when a Russian drone struck a minibus on Sunday morning. Seven others were wounded in the attack, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

The Kherson region was one of four that Moscow illegally annexed in September 2022 and is partly occupied.

Nine months later, a Ukrainian counteroffensive recaptured western areas of the Kherson region, including the regional capital.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, has drained resources on both sides in what is Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.