Russia claims capturing 2 more Ukrainian settlements

MOSCOW

Russia claimed on Monday that its forces captured two more settlements in eastern Ukraine.

In a statement, the Defense Ministry said Pavlivka in the Zaporizhzhia region and Novopavlivka in the Donetsk region came under Russian control over the past day.

It also said that Ukraine launched an overnight air attack and that 12 guided aerial bombs, two Neptun long-range guided missiles, and 122 drones were shot down overnight.

In a separate statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia is targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

According to him, "the situation is extremely tough" in Kyiv, and "things are also difficult" in the Kyiv region and in border and frontline regions—Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia.

"A great deal of work was carried out in the Poltava region and in Odesa to stabilize the energy situation," he said.

Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, after a meeting with the management of the Ukrenergo energy company, told reporters that he set tasks aimed at reducing the duration of blackouts in the hardest-hit areas.

Some parts of Ukraine are said to remain without power for up to 16 hours a day.