The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that it has decided to regroup the Russian troops stationed in the Balakleya and Izyum regions in order to build up efforts in the Donetsk direction.

"To achieve the goals of the special military operation to liberate Donbas, a decision was made to regroup Russian troops stationed in the Balakleya and Izyum regions, to bolster efforts along the Donetsk front," the ministry said in a statement. 

It said the troops were rolled up in three days and transferred to the territory of Donetsk. 

The Russian announcement came after Kyiv claimed that its troops had made sweeping gains in the territory held for months by Russia's army.