Russia said on Tuesday its forces had advanced by 1,000 square kilometres (390 square miles) in eastern Ukraine in August and September despite a Ukrainian incursion into western Russia, which ruled out any ceasefire talks with Kyiv, Paralel.Az reports citing Reuters.

Since Russia sent armoured forces into Ukraine in February 2022, the war has largely been a story of grinding artillery and drone strikes along a heavily fortified 1,000-km (620-mile) front involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said that the Aug. 6 Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk region had aimed to improve Kyiv's negotiating position and divert Russian forces from the Donbas front in eastern Ukraine.

But Shoigu said that Russian forces were increasing the pace of their offensive in Donbas, capturing almost 1,000 sq km over August and the first eight days of September.

Russia's Defence Ministry on Tuesday announced the capture of four villages on the eastern front, but Ukrainian accounts of front-line activity disputed parts of that claim.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy offered no details of the situation on the ground, but praised troops for holding their positions in the two most difficult sectors in the east - Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.

Zelenskiy has said the Kursk operation achieves a number of objectives, including preventing Russian forces from launching their own incursion on the Ukrainian side of the border in that area.

He appeals almost daily for greater numbers of weapons and permission from Kyiv's Western allies to use them on targets deep inside Russia. U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday his administration was "working that out now".