Russian defence ministry has said its troops advancing slowly on the eastern front of the war in Ukraine have captured two settlements in Donetsk region as well as one in Ukraine's northern region of Sumy.

A Russian Defence Ministry statement said its forces had captured the village of Stupochky in Donetsk region, east of Kostiantynivka, a town under recent Russian pressure.

It also said it had taken control of Otradne, a village further west along the 1,000-km front and announced the capture of Loknya, a village inside the Russian border in Sumy region.

The general staff of Ukraine's military acknowledged no such losses, referring to Otradne as one of several towns where Ukrainian troops had halted 18 frontline Russian attacks.

It referred to Stupochky earlier this week as part of an area under Russian attack.

Since their failed advance on the capital Kyiv in the first weeks of the war, Russian forces have focused on capturing the Donbas in the east, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds more prisoners yesterday as part of a major swap of 1,000 prisoners of war agreed between both the countries.

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's defense ministry said each side brought home 307 more soldiers on Saturday, a day after each released a total of 390 combatants and civilians.

Further releases expected over the weekend are set to make the swap the largest in more than three years of war.

"We expect more to come tomorrow," Mr Zelensky said on his official Telegram channel.

Russia's defence ministry also said it expected the exchange to be continued, though it did not give details.

More than 10 Russian drones were flying over the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and more were coming, a senior Ukrainian official said early this morning,

"There are more than 10 enemy drones in the airspace around the capital. More are coming," Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv military administration, wrote on Telegram.

"We are in for a complicated night. There is the threat of a large number of enemy drones and missiles aboard strategic aircraft,” he said.

Witnesses heard anti-aircraft units in operation around the city, reported Reuters.

Russia said it faced a Ukrainian drone attack early this morning and intercepted or destroyed around 100 of the unmanned Ukrainian weapons including some aimed at Moscow.

The defence ministry reported its air defence units intercepted or destroyed 95 Ukrainian drones over a four-hour period. That included two near Moscow but most were over Russia's central and southern regions.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin later said on Telegram that the number of drones destroyed or intercepted near the capital had risen to 11.

The drone attack has led to a closure of Moscow’s three airports, officials said.

Regional officials reported air defence units downed drones in the central city of Tula and the city of Tver northwest of Moscow.

Fragments from a Russian drone triggered a fire and caused damage to an apartment building in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Sunday, a senior Ukrainian official said.

Timur Tkachenko, head of the capital's military administration, said the incident occurred in the Holosiivskyi district, just outside the city centre.

"The building has been partly destroyed and there is a fire. Rescue teams are at the site," Tkachenko said.

Tkachenko earlier said there were 10 drones above the city and more coming.

A senior Ukrainian official said early on Sunday that more than 10 Russian drones were flying over the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and more were coming.

"There are more than 10 enemy drones in the airspace around the capital. More are coming," Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv military administration, wrote on Telegram. "We are in for a complicated night. There is the threat of a large number of enemy drones and missiles aboard strategic aircraft."

Witnesses heard anti-aircraft units in operation around the city.

Russian troops have captured the settlements of Stupochki, Otradne and Loknia in Ukraine's Donetsk and Sumy regions, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday.

The battlefield report has not been independently confirmed.

Since their failed advance on the capital Kyiv in the first weeks of the war, Russian forces have focused on capturing the Donbas in the east, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

In recent months, Moscow has also tried to advance in Sumy region, particularly after Russia's military said it had ousted Ukrainian troops from the Russian border region of Kursk.

A Russian Defence Ministry statement said its forces had captured the village of Stupochky in Donetsk region, east of Kostiantynivka, a town under recent Russian pressure.

It also said it had taken control of Otradne, a village further west along the 1,000-km front and announced the capture of Loknya, a village inside the Russian border in Sumy region.