Russia announced today that it has captured two Ukrainian villages in the northeastern Kharkiv region, TASS reported, quoted by bTA.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said that the country's armed forces have established control over Ustinovka and Bely Kolodez.
These claims have not been independently verified. There has been no reaction from the Ukrainian side so far.
Ustinovka is located in the Kupyansky district. Late last year, Russia announced that it had captured Kupyansk for the second time since the war began more than four years ago, but Ukraine has denied the claims.
The town in eastern Kharkiv Oblast is a major railway junction.
Bely Kolodez is located in the northern part of the region, in Vovchansk district, near the border with Russia. The town of Vovchansk, which is being fiercely fought over, is practically in ruins.
Kharkiv Oblast is not among the Ukrainian regions that Russia has declared annexed. However, Moscow wants to create a buffer zone along the border, as it says, in response to Kiev's actions.
The two villages that Russia has declared captured were not mentioned at all in the morning briefing of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The text, published on Facebook and quoted by Ukrinform, says that a total of 207 clashes were registered yesterday.