The commander of Ukraine's armed forces says his troops remain in an area of the eastern town of Maryinka despite assertions by Russia's defence minister that Moscow was in control of the settlement.
Valery Zaluzhnyi on Tuesday acknowledged to reporters the town was in ruins, but Ukrainian troops were still positioned on its northern flank.
Deepstate, a popular Ukrainian war blog, reported late on Tuesday that Russian troops had taken over all areas of the town that had previously been outside its control.
Reuters could not confirm reports of military activity from either side.
Capturing Maryinka would amount to Moscow's most significant battlefield gain since May.
In his remarks to journalists, Zaluzhnyi said Russian forces had for two years been bearing down on Maryinka, a short drive from the Russian-held regional centre of Donetsk.
"At this time today, our troops are still in northern areas," Zaluzhnyi said.
"Our troops had readied a defensive line outside this locality, but I can say that this locality no longer exists."
He said Ukrainian forces were resolved to defend any corner of the country, be it in Maryinka or Bakhmut or Avdiikva, two other towns in the country's east subject to months of fighting.
Bakhmut was captured by Russian troops in May and Ukrainian forces have been trying to secure nearby villages in a counteroffensive launched soon after.
Avdiivka, adjacent to Maryinka, remains in Ukrainian hands, but has been under fierce attack for two months.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, in a televised video with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on Monday, said, "Our assault units ... have today completely liberated the settlement of Maryinka."
Putin said taking the town would enable Russian troops to be able to operate in a wider area.
Meanwhile, two people were killed after Russian forces sent dozens of attack drones over Ukraine in their latest overnight air strike, Ukrainian authorities said on Wednesday.
The Ukraine air force said that 32 of 46 Iranian-made drones launched by Russia had been shot down. Most of the rest struck near the front line, mainly in the southern Kherson region.
The governor of Ukraine's Odesa region said a 35-year-old man was killed by debris from a downed drone in a residential area. Another man died in hospital from his injuries.
Four others including a 17-year-old boy were wounded, according to the governor, Oleh Kiper.
There were no other immediate reports of casualties. The air force said the military had shot down drones over parts of central, southern and western Ukraine.
Russia has carried out a campaign of regular air strikes on population centres far behind the front line of its nearly two-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine's interior ministry also reported a separate fatality from overnight shelling of Kherson city.
