ISTANBUL

Moscow's military offensive in the Zaporizhzhia region in southeastern Ukraine is concentrated in two directions, Russian state media reported on Sunday.

"The front is mobile, especially in two directions - Orekhov and Hulyaipole," Russian-installed official in the region Vladimir Rogov told RIA Novosti news agency.

Rogov further said that active clashes are taking place in these areas, claiming: “The initiative is in our hands.”

On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that as a result of offensive operations, units of the Eastern Military District have taken “more advantageous lines and positions.”

Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov on Friday also told a press briefing in Moscow that the army captured the Lobkovoye settlement located in the region.

Zaporizhzhia, as well as the Luhansk, Donetsk, and Kherson regions, were attached to Moscow through a presidential decree last October after Moscow-backed referendums, which have been widely rejected by the international community.