Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has once again admitted the situation in Ukraine’s east is “difficult” amid a continuing Russian troop advance in the Donetsk region. He said this Tuesday as Moscow announced the capture of the key town of New York, or Niu-York.

The defense ministry hailed the fresh capture of “one of the largest settlements of the Toretsk agglomeration,”  calling it a “strategically important logistics hub.” It sits just south of the large industrial town of Toretsk, which has long been eyed by Moscow as a prime strategic goal in the region.

Image: RFE/RL

Ukraine’s military has said it is “doing everything necessary” to protect Toretsk after within the 48 hours prior Russia said it took over the nearby town of Zalizne.

New York marks the latest in a string of gains in Donetsk for Russian forces, with a population of around 10,000. It can serve as another launching point for attacks on Toretsk, which had a pre-war population of over 30,000.

AFP explains of the city’s curious name, “New York first found itself on the front line in 2014, when Moscow-backed separatists in the east tried to break away from Kyiv.”

“The origin of the town’s name is a mystery, with theories including possible American connections among its founders,” the report continues. “It was renamed Novgorodskoye — New City — by Soviet authorities in 1951 for ideological reasons, before Ukrainian lawmakers voted to switch it back to New York in 2021.”

In southern Russia, the fight to repel Ukraine’s cross-border Kursk offensive continues after pro-Kiev forces blew up three key bridges there over the past week.

Among the stated aims of Kiev officials for the operation deep in Russian territory is to distract and divide Russia’s army. There have been limited reports of Russia possibly diverting some manpower from Donetsk to help protect the homeland amid the incursion.

RIA is reporting Tuesday that the Russian defense ministry has newly announced the establishment of new military groups dedicated to protecting and stabilizing Russia’s border regions, with names of the new formations given as “Belgorod”, “Kursk”, and “Bryansk”. The bulk of these forces might be made up of new conscripts, as opposed to pulling more seasoned troops from Donetsk.

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The cross-border operations have likely dented the Kremlin’s morale to some degree, and has captured the West’s attention; however, the war is ultimately being decided in Ukraine’s east, with the Kursk fighting likely to be short-lived, despite Zelensky’s recent declarations that he’s intent on holding territory and creating a “buffer zone” in Kursk.