In a decisive move, the Russian government on Saturday captured two villages in eastern and southern Ukraine amid stumbling efforts for a ceasefire by United States (US) President Donald Trump.

Saturday Telegraph recalls that, for several weeks, the US has been trying to negotiate a ceasefire in the Black Sea and in strikes targeting energy infrastructure in both nations with both Moscow and Kyiv.

While both countries have agreed to these truces in principle, their implementation remains unclear, and Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of seeking to derail them.

Speaking on the development, the Defence Ministry said Moscow’s forces captured the village of Shchebraki in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and Panteleimonivka in the eastern Donetsk region.

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Meanwhile, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched more than 170 drones into Ukraine overnight, striking targets in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Khmelnytskyi regions.

He said four people were killed in Dnipro, where the strike hit a hotel complex, and 21 others were injured, including a pregnant woman.

“Russia is making a mockery of peacekeeping efforts around the world. It is dragging out the war and sowing terror because it still feels no real pressure.” Zelenskyy said.