Fighting continues in the Toreck sector amid reports of a village in the ‘gray zone’ being captured

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Ukrainian forces stop a Russian attack in the Horlivka-Toretsk direction in the Donetsk region on June 22 amid ongoing fighting, Nazar Voloshin, spokesman for the Khortytsia group of forces, told the Kyiv Independent daily.

His statement comes after Moscow’s troops were reported to have stepped up their attacks near the town of Toretsk after a “long pause” in fighting in the area. Over the past day, Russia carried out six attacks in the Toretsk area, namely near Toretsk and the village of Pivnichne, but they ended in failure, Voloshin said.

Toretsk, a strategically important city less than 8 kilometers (5 mi) from the front line, had a population of approximately 31,000 before the full-scale invasion began.

According to the crowdsourced monitoring service DeepState, Russian troops have allegedly captured the village of Szumy, located about 10 kilometers from Toreck.

In its latest update, the General Staff of Ukraine did not comment on these claims.

“No map can show what is really happening on the front line. It is completely different there and no conclusions can be drawn about the breakthrough of the front or its stabilization,” Voloshin told the Kyiv Independent.

Kyrylo Sazonav, a blogger and soldier of the 41st Separate Mechanized Brigade deployed in the area, said that both Szumy and Pivnichne are in a “gray zone” that has been subject to constant attacks since 2015. He confirmed that Russian troops knocked out Ukrainian forces from “several positions” but suffered losses.

“There is no catastrophe or tragedy. They (Russia) still have a long way to Toretsk and there is no easy option there,” Sazonav wrote in Telegram on June 22.

“Toreck and Khasiv Yar are under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” he added.

A few days ago, Russian troops began an assault on Khasov Yar, a city located on a hill, which potentially opens the way for Russia to further attack towards the Donetsk Oblast from Toretsk, Voloshin announced on June 21.

The spokesman said Russia had lost about 40 soldiers in the Toretsk area over the past day.

A day earlier, the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine announced that it had been transferred to strengthen the defense of the Khasiev Yar Armed Forces.