Russia's defense ministry says the country's forces have captured seven settlements in the war with Ukraine, taking control of more than 300 square kilometers over the past month.

The ministry said on Friday that one of its commanders reported this to defense minister Andrei Belousov. Russian forces are stepping up their offensive in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, and the commander appears to be in charge of the area.

Ukraine has been launching attacks on Russian territory using long-range missiles supplied by the United States and European countries.

Western nations approved such strikes only last month after repeated requests from Ukraine.

But US President-elect Donald Trump expressed his disagreement with the attacks. In a Time magazine interview published on Thursday, he said: "Why are we doing that? We're just escalating this war and making it worse."

The Wall Street Journal on Thursday cited senior government officials as saying Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron he does not support Ukraine's NATO membership during a meeting on December 7.

Trump also reportedly said Europe should play the main role in defending and supporting Ukraine, and suggested European troops should monitor any potential ceasefire.