Pallade Veneta - Ukraine civilians flee advancing Russian troops in east

The Russian army has captured several towns and villages in recent days, even as Moscow scrambles to fight off a Ukrainian counterattack into its western Kursk region.

Civilians in Myrnograd -- under 10 kilometres (six miles) from the frontline -- told AFP that increased shelling had finally prompted some people to leave, two and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

"I need to leave, because the situation is really getting worse. Every day, not even every day, but every hour, like an avalanche," said Maksim, a 40-year-old mine worker.

A recent strike hit the nine-storey residential building where he lives smashed the windows.

"Thank God I wasn't home ... but I decided to leave, because life is precious."

AFP reporters saw civilians watching as houses burned after a Russian shelling attack on the small town. Firefighters tackled a blaze at another house hit in a recent barrage.

Russian troops are fighting towards the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk, a strategically important city five kilometres (three miles) west of Myrnograd.

Officials on Monday ordered families with children to evacuate Pokrovsk and the surrounding areas, where they said more than 50,000 people still live.

- 'We'll cope' -

Galina, 74, also left the area on Wednesday, heading to the relative safety of central Ukraine.

"My son-in-law found a one-room apartment. It's ok, we'll cope. We used to live in a dormitory," she said.

"I feel sorry for the children," she said, explaining how members from multiple generations of her family were fleeing.

Anatoliy, 60, decided to leave after witnessing two strikes on residential areas.

"What a mess, but everyone's alive, thank God," he told AFP.

Asked whether he would return one day, Maksim said: "I'd like to believe so."

Russia on Wednesday claimed its latest territorial advance, with the defence ministry saying its forces had captured the town of Zhelanne, around 20 kilometres (12 miles) to the southeast.

Moscow claims to have annexed the industrial Donetsk region, as well as three others in eastern and southern Ukraine, despite not having full control over any of them.

The region has been at the centre of the war between Russia and Ukraine since 2014, when Moscow-backed separatists tried to seize control of the Donbas region and secede from Kyiv.

Ukrainian military units disputed Russia's claim that it had taken control of the town of New York, one of its key targets in recent months.

Moscow's defence ministry said Tuesday its forces had seized it in a recent advance.

- Drone attacks -

Kyiv might have hoped its shock border incursion into Kursk, now in its third week, would force Moscow to divert troops from other parts of the frontline.

It claims to have captured dozens of settlements and more than 1,000 square kilometres of territory in the unprecedented cross-border assault.

So far there has been little sign fighting on the frontlines in Ukraine's east has subsided.

Both countries also launched attempted overnight drone strikes aimed at Kyiv and Moscow.

Russia said it destroyed 45 drones -- 11 headed for the Russian capital.

"This is one of the largest ever attempts to attack Moscow with drones," Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Ukraine's air force said it detected 72 air targets over Ukraine, with 50 drones and one missile downed, including some headed for Kyiv.

L.Guglielmino--PV