By Kanyshai Butun
ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia claimed on Friday that it took control of a settlement in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.
According to a Defense Ministry statement posted on Telegram, Russian forces captured the village of Zelenoye, the second settlement in this week.
On Thursday Russia claimed it took control of the village of Bratske, in Dnipropetrovsk region, which is about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) northwest of the village of Ostapivske, which Moscow claimed capturing in December last year.
However, Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the recent claim, and independent verification of Russia’s claims is difficult due to the war that has continued for nearly four years.
Ukraine on Thursday reported major power outages in the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions after overnight drone strikes.
The Energy Ministry said in a statement that Russian strikes targeted energy infrastructure, and the two regions were almost completely without electricity.
"Critical infrastructure is operating on backup power,” said the ministry statement.