KYIV: Russia said Wednesday it had taken control of a village in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, a westward push that is piling additional pressure on Ukrainian forces across the sprawling front line.
The defence ministry said in a statement that its forces had taken the village of Zapadne on the western bank of the Oskil River, which for months had formed a natural front line between the armies.
Russia has managed to establish a bridgehead on the western bank this year and Zapadne is located about four kilometres (2.5 miles) west of the river, marking a significant gain.
Russian forces are advancing in the Kharkiv region to the north of the town of Kupiansk, one of the main places Ukraine recaptured in its 2022 offensive.
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The Kharkiv region is under constant shelling and two men were killed one day earlier in the village of Goptivka, according to governor Oleg Synegubov.
Ten others were wounded over the past 24 hours, he had said earlier.
The Russian advances come as its troops are also close to taking the major hub of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged on Tuesday that “in the east, we have a difficult situation”.
The Ukrainian air force said Wednesday its air-defence systems had shot down 65 Russian drones in 10 regions of the country, including Kharkiv.
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