Russian forces on Friday said they had seized ground in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, their first claim for fresh gains after Kyiv picked up steam in a counter-offensive that rocked Russia’s war effort.

The announcement came as Russia’s Orthodox leader said President Vladimir Putin’s rule was divinely divined, wished him a happy 70th birthday and as the Nobel Committee presented the Peace Prize to right-backs in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Separatist forces in the war-torn Donetsk region said they have retaken a number of villages near the Ukrainian-controlled industrial town of Bakhmut, which has been under Russian shelling for weeks.

“On the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic, a grouping of troops from the Donetsk and Lugansk republics, with fire support from Russian forces, liberated Otradovka, Veselaya Dolina and Zaitsevo,” social media said.

The Donetsk region, which has been partially controlled by Kremlin-backed separatists for years, is a key win for Russian forces that invaded Ukraine in February.

But Ukrainian forces have been fighting back Russian forces across frontlines in the south and east, including parts of Donetsk, in recent weeks.

AFP journalists heard the sound of heavy artillery and several rocket launchers near the remains of a destroyed bridge over the Bakhmutka River in central Bakhmut.

Edvard Skoryk, 29, a civilian volunteer with the humanitarian group Vostok SOS, told AFP that there had been “street fighting” on the other side near his home.

South of the city, in the direction of the apparently occupied villages, occasional columns of black smoke erupted after shells hit.

Civilians flinched and sometimes ducked for cover as projectiles whistled overhead. Occasional machine gun fire could also be heard.

Ukraine’s lightning-fast territorial gains in the east and south undermined a Kremlin claim last week that it had annexed Donetsk, neighboring Lugansk and the southern regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson.

The four territories form a crucial land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and together make up around 20 percent of Ukraine.

In Kherson, the Moscow-installed deputy head of the region said on Friday that five civilians were killed in shelling by Kiev’s forces as Ukrainian forces advance their counter-offensive to retake the area.

“Militants of Ukraine shot at a bus with civilians on Daryevsky Bridge. Civilians were on their way to work,” he said on social media, saying another five people were injured.

Kyiv announced this week that it had retaken about 500 square kilometers (193 square miles) in Kherson.

This included around 30 towns and villages that may have trapped up to 20,000 Russian troops on the west bank of the Dnieper River, which cuts through Kherson.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on Friday called on Russian forces to lay down their arms, promising their lives were spared and they would be safe.

“You can still save Russia from tragedy and the Russian army from humiliation,” Reznikov said in Russian in a video addressed to Russian troops.

“We guarantee life, security and justice for all who refuse to fight immediately. And we will ensure a tribunal for those who gave criminal orders,” he promised.

Not only has the Kremlin advanced into Donetsk, but Russian drones have attacked the central industrial city of Zaporizhia, home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

Officials said on Friday the attacks had hit industrial plants, a day after devastating Russian attacks on the center of the city killed 11 people.

US President Joe Biden warned on Thursday that the world is heading for nuclear “Armageddon” and warned that Putin could deploy his nuclear arsenal while Russian troops fight a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

After Russia’s invasion more than seven months ago, Putin made thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons.