Russia’s Defense Ministry is claiming that its troops in eastern Ukraine have captured the town of Kurakhove after a months-long battle.

Russia said Monday its forces had captured the "important logistics hub" of Kurakhove in eastern Ukraine in what would be a key advance after months of steady gains in the area. It called the town "an important logistics hub" and said its capture would allow Russian forces to seize the rest of the Donetsk region "at an accelerated pace".

The claim, which drew no response from Ukrainian authorities, came a day after the Russian Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces had launched a new thrust in Russia’s Kursk border region.

President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed optimism in an interview published Sunday that "strong" incoming US president Donald Trump will be able to force Russia into peace talks and end the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines are increasingly willing to support President-elect Donald Trump’s call to begin negotiations to end the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is “strong and unpredictable” and those qualities can be a decisive factor in his policy approach to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.