ISTANBUL

Russia claimed on Wednesday that it took control of a settlement in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.

A statement by the country’s Defense Ministry claimed that its forces in the region captured the village of Varachyne, located about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.

The village is also situated around 27 kilometers (16.7 miles) north of the city of Sumy, the administrative center of the region adjacent to Russia’s Kursk region.

Moscow claimed pushing Ukrainian forces out of the border region in April following an incursion by Kyiv in August last year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin later in the same month, ordered the creation of a “security buffer zone” along the border between the two countries. Since then, Moscow has claimed to have taken control of multiple settlements in the region.

In late June, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi claimed that the country’s forces managed to stop the advance of Russian troops in Sumy, also claiming that in certain areas, they are “successfully” using active defense tactics and retaking control of border areas in the region.

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