Ukraine says still clinging on to part of key town Kurakhove

Kyiv's army said on Tuesday it was clinging on to part of Kurakhove, a strategic town in Ukraine's east that Russia said it had seized the previous day.

Moscow hailed the capture of the "important logistics hub", saying it would enable Russian forces to seize the rest of the eastern Donetsk region "at an accelerated pace".

But the Ukrainian army said on Tuesday fighting was still ongoing on the fringes of the town and accused Russia of using scorched-earth tactics to "completely destroy" it.

"Ukrainian troops are holding on in the western part of the town, on the western outskirts of the town," Victor Tregubov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia army unit, which is fighting in the area, said in an interview on national TV.

A "large part of the town has been destroyed", he said, adding that Russians were grinding through the area, clearing the town building by building.

"They are actually trying to dismantle the town brick by brick," Tregubov said.

He claimed Ukraine was "inflicting losses on them so that they do not advance further".

Kurakhove had a pre-conflict population of around 18,000 people. It is home to a power station, is located near a reservoir and has a major lithium deposit.

Tregubov said Ukraine still controlled the power plant.

Russia's troops have been advancing in the eastern Donetsk region -- that Moscow claimed to have annexed in 2022 -- for months.