Russia claims capturing 9 Ukrainian settlements in past week

Russia said on Friday that its forces captured nine Ukrainian settlements over the past week.

The Defense Ministry said in a statement that seven villages were taken in the Donetsk region and two in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

According to the statement, units of the Eastern military grouping took control of the settlements of Voronove and Novoheorhiivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

The Western military group captured the settlement of Kolodezi, while the Southern group took Oleksandro-Shultyne and Katerynivka, and the Central group seized Sukhetske, Pankivka, Volodymyrivka, and Rusyn Yar-all in Donetsk.

The ministry also said that during the week, six group strikes were carried out using high-precision weapons and attack drones, targeting enterprises of Ukraine's military-industrial complex and energy facilities supporting their operation.

It claimed that among the objectives hit were an oil refinery supplying fuel to Ukrainian troops and storage sites for operational-tactical missiles, including Sapsan.

In response to Ukrainian air attacks, the ministry claimed that over the past week Russian air defense systems shot down 25 guided aerial bombs, 11 rockets from the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, and 1,500 drones.

Kyiv did not immediately comment on Russia's claims, and independent verification remains challenging due to the ongoing conflict.