ISTANBUL

Russia claimed on Sunday that it took control of two more settlements in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Kharkiv regions amid Moscow’s ongoing offensive in the war-torn country.

A statement by the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its forces captured the village of Piddubne, located about 22 kilometers (13.6 miles) north of the strategic town of Velyka Novosilka, in the eastern Donetsk region.

Russia previously claimed to have seized Velyka Novosilka on Jan. 27. The town lies near the junction of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Piddubne is situated about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from the trijunction and about 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) from the administrative border between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

The statement further claimed that Russian forces took control of the village of Sobolivka, located about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) west of the city of Kupiansk, a major front in Moscow's offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on Russia’s claims, and independent verification of the claims is difficult due to the ongoing war, now in its fourth year.