Russian troops have reached the centre of Vuhledar, a bastion on strategic high ground in eastern Ukraine that had resisted Russian assaults since Moscow's full-scale invasion, the regional governor of Ukraine's Donetsk region said on Tuesday.

Moscow’s troops have raised the Russian flag above buildings in the frontline town of Vuhledar, marking the fall of a Ukrainian stronghold once considered an impregnable “fortress”. Its capture hands Vladimir Putin his most significant battlefield victory since his forces took control of Avdiivka in February.