ISTANBUL

Russia on Friday claimed that its forces have taken control of the settlement of Zelena Dolyna in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

According to a Defense Ministry statement, the village was captured by the Russian military’s Zapad (West) group of troops.

It also claimed that five other settlements were seized in the past week, including Bezsalivka in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, Sobolevka in the Kharkiv region, Dachnoye in the Dnipropetrovsk region, and Poddubnoye and Tolstoy in the Donetsk region.

Ukrainian authorities have not yet publicly commented on Russia’s claims.