Russia claims to have taken another village in Ukraine

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Saturday that its forces have taken control of the Ukrainian village of Vovche in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

According to a ministry statement, the settlement was captured during an operation by the Vostok (East) group of forces.

The ministry also reported conducting a mass strike on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, specifically targeting facilities that supply power to its military-industrial complex.

It further claimed to have repelled Ukrainian air raids overnight, stating that two guided aviation bombs and 178 drones were shot down.

In a separate statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the large-scale aerial assault.

He claimed that Russia launched 450 drones and 45 missiles and that Ukrainian air defenses successfully intercepted 415 of them.

The attacks on the energy infrastructure were separately confirmed by Ukraine's national energy operator, Ukrenergo.

Simultaneously, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry confirmed launching its own air attacks, claiming to have destroyed a Russian S-300 air defense system on the Crimean Peninsula.

Additionally, one of its drones allegedly struck the Balashovskaya power plant in Russia's Volgograd region, a key connector for the Volzhskaya Hydroelectric Power Station, one of Russia's largest hydropower plants, to the common energy grid.

Moscow has not yet issued a statement confirming the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's claim.