Russia fired dozens of missiles and drones at Ukraine killing 12 people, Kyiv said Saturday, as Moscow claimed its forces were pressing in on the key city of Toretsk.
The city in the eastern Donetsk region has been in the Kremlin's sights for months, as its capture would enable Russia to obstruct vital Ukrainian supply routes.
The Russian defence ministry said Saturday its troops "liberated" the village of Krymske in Toretsk's northeastern suburbs.
Fighting in the nearly three-year war has shown no signs of de-escalating, despite US President Donald Trump's promise to enact a ceasefire within "24 hours" of taking office on January 20.
At least 12 people died in Russian strikes on central and eastern Ukraine overnight and early Saturday, according to authorities.
Eight of those, including a child, were killed in a missile hit on a residential building in the central city of Poltava, emergency services said.
They published images showing firefighters searching through the smouldering ruins of a building.
The growing human and military toll of the war has also fuelled tensions over mobilisation in Ukraine.
Earlier in the day, a man armed with a hunting rifle shot dead a Ukrainian army recruitment soldier and escaped with a conscript, both of whom were later caught, authorities said.
Attacks on recruiting authorities are rare, but have taken place before in both Ukraine and Russia.
An explosion at a Ukrainian army recruitment centre in the western city of Rivne earlier Saturday left one person dead and six wounded, according to police, although authorities did not say the cause.
In addition to Poltava, Russia targeted east Ukraine.
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