Russia claims to have taken control of 2 villages in Ukraine

By Merve Berker and Dmitri Chirciu​​​​​​​

ANKARA / MOSCOW (AA) - Russia on Sunday claimed that its forces have captured two settlements in Ukraine’s Donetsk region over the past day.

“The Southern and Central Military Group units liberated the settlements of Ulakly and Novoandriivka in the Donetsk People's Republic as a result of decisive actions,” the Defense Ministry said.

The statement further noted that since the beginning of the war, a total of 656 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 44,263 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), 596 air defense missile systems, along with 21,713 tanks and armored vehicles, 1,521 multiple rocket launchers, 21,980 howitzers and mortars, and more than 32,000 special military vehicles belonging to the Ukrainian army have been destroyed.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Saturday that they had captured the settlement of Novolyubivka in the Luhansk region.

Ukraine has yet to comment on these claims, and independent verification remains challenging due to the ongoing conflict since February 2022.