Russian troops pressing their slow advance through eastern Ukraine took control of two settlements in Donetsk region, Russia's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

After an intense battle with Russian forces this week, Ukrainian special forces were scouring dead bodies from the snowy western terrain of the Kursk region, where they discovered corpses of over a dozen dead North Korean enemy troops.

Trump has reaffirmed his intention to broker peace in Ukraine, declaring earlier this month that “Putin wants to meet” and that such a meeting is being set up. In the past, he has criticized U.S. military aid for Ukraine and even vowed to end the conflict in a single day if elected.

Russia says it has detected a shift from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his team towards recognising the "realities" on the ground in Ukraine, and sees this as a welcome sign as it prepares to study his plan for ending the war.