Russia claims control of settlement in Ukraine’s Sumy region

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia claimed on Thursday that it took control of a settlement in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.

The Defense Ministry said in a statement that its forces captured the village of Bila Bereza, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of the city of Shostka, the administrative center of the region’s northern Shostka district.

The village is just over a kilometer from Ukraine’s border with Russia.

Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on Russia’s claim and independent verification is difficult due to the ongoing war, which will enter its fifth year next month.