Ukraine's military leadership has replaced the commander overseeing defences in the eastern Donetsk region where Russian forces are making swift advances, a military official said on Saturday.

General Oleksandr Lutsenko has come in for severe criticism recently, amid reports Russian forces are less than two miles from the strategic city.

Russian troops are closing in on Pokrovsk from the east and south. After the capture of Shevchenko village just south of the city, Russian forces are less than 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from this key logistics hub sitting on the western edge of Donetsk Oblast.

Russia appears to be packing up military equipment at a military air base in Syria, according to satellite images released by Maxar following rebels' overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad last weekend.

Russia is pulling back its military from northern Syria and posts in the Alawite Mountains but is not leaving its two main bases, four Syrian officials told Reuters.

By Tuvan Gumrukcu, Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Guy Faulconbridge TARTOUS, Syria (Reuters) - Russia is pulling back its military from the front lines in northern Syria and from posts in the Alawite Mountains but is not leaving its two main bases in the country after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad,

Russia is pulling back its military from northern Syria and posts in the Alawite Mountains but is not leaving its two main bases, four Syrian officials told Reuters.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Moscow had started involving "a noticeable number" of North Korean troops in its efforts to drive Ukrainian troops out of Russia's Kursk region.