ISTANBUL
Moscow claimed on Friday that it took control of two more settlements in Ukraine as the Russia-Ukraine war is set to enter its fifth year next month.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its forces in the Donetsk region captured the settlement of Zakitne, situated about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) east of the city of Sloviansk.
Sloviansk is one of Ukraine’s last strongholds in the eastern region, other than Kramatorsk, the region’s administrative center, since Moscow captured Donetsk city in 2014.
The ministry further claimed that its forces in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region captured the village of Olenokostiantynivka, located about 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) northwest of the front-line town of Huliaipole.
Russia claimed it captured the town late last month, though Ukraine has denied the claim.
Ukraine’s General Staff claimed in a morning statement that its forces repelled five Russian attacks near three settlements in the Sloviansk front, including Zakitne, as well as repelled 30 assaults near six settlements in the Huliaipole front, including Olenokostiantynivka, which Russia's statement called Zhovtnevoe.
However, Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the recent claims, and independent verification of the claims is difficult due to the ongoing war.