RESTRICTION: USERS MUST CREDIT “RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY” HANDOUT, MUST NOT OBSCURE LOGO —EDITORIAL USE ONLY—

SHOTLIST:

DONETSK OBLAST, UKRAINE (OCT. 19, 2025) (RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY - RESTRICTED)

1. VARIOUS OF DRONE SHOTS OF RUSSIAN FORCES TARGETING UKRAINIAN POINTS / MASSIVE SMOKE RISING OVER TARGETED AREAS

2. VARIOUS OF RUSSIAN SOLDIERS HOLDING FLAG

3. VARIOUS OF AERIAL SHOTS OF AREA AND RUSSIAN SOLDIERS HOLDING FLAGS DONETSK OBLAST, UKRAINE - OCT. 19 - RESTRICTION: USERS MUST CREDIT “RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY” HANDOUT, MUST NOT OBSCURE LOGO —EDITORIAL USE ONLY— Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Sunday, Oct. 19, that they captured Poltavka, a large settlement in the Zaporizhzhia region, after an assault operation conducted by units of the “Vostok” group.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the assault involved troops from the 57th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 5th Guards Combined Arms Army.

The ministry added that air and artillery support, along with drones, were used to strike Ukrainian positions.

Russian forces reportedly took control of an area of more than 12 square kilometers and cleared about 500 buildings in Poltavka.

Russia started its "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022 to "denazify" and "demilitarize" Ukraine.

According to its memorandum for the settlement of the conflict, Moscow has demanded a ban on Kyiv joining military alliances and withdrawal of Ukraine's troops from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, the regions it annexed after a referendum in September 2022, among others.

Ukraine has called the terms an "ultimatum" and has called for a ceasefire as a prerequisite for meaningful talks.