Russia said on Saturday that its forces continued to advance in grinding battles around the key towns of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk, and had captured a tiny village in eastern Ukraine.

The Kremlin is focusing its fire on Pokrovsk, a gateway to the Donetsk region, which Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, has long coveted.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that Ukrainian troops should surrender to save themselves in Pokrovsk, a transport and supply hub seen as a gateway to bigger nearby cities.

The battle for Pokrovsk - on a big road and rail artery in the Donetsk region - has been going on for well over a year.

Hungary said on Saturday it had obtained an indefinite waiver from U.S. sanctions to use Russian oil and gas, but a White House official reaffirmed that the exemption was for one year only.

India and Russia enhance economic ties, adapting to sanctions, with trade exceeding $70 billion, focusing on defense, nuclear, and technology cooperation.

A commander of a Ukrainian unit deployed in the Donetsk region says Ukraine's troops are having a tough time fighting, as the Russian forces have more manpower.

A European lawmaker for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) has defended his party's plans for a trip to Russia against fierce criticism from mainstream parties. Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Hans Neuhoff told the Handelsblatt business newspaper in comments published on Saturday that the accusations that he was too close to the Russian government from two conservative politicians were "unqualified.