Russia claims capture of 3 more settlements in eastern Ukraine

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia on Thursday claimed that its forces captured three villages in Ukraine's eastern regions.

Settlements of Popov Yar in Donetsk region, Degtyarne in Kharkov region, and Kamenske in Zaporizhzhia region, went under Moscow's control as a result of operations carried out by Dnepr, Sever (north) and Vostok (East) groups of forces respectively, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also claimed Russian aviation, drones, missile forces, and artillery struck workshops of an enterprise producing FPV attack drones, storage and control sites for drones, shelters of air defense systems, field airfield facilities, as well as temporary deployment points of Ukrainian formations in 133 areas.

It also claimed that over the past day, Russian air defense systems shot down two Neptune long-range guided missiles and 308 drones.

Ukraine has yet to comment on Russia's claims, and independent verification is challenging due to the ongoing armed conflict.