Russia says captured Kharkiv region village in westward push

MOSCOW: Russia said Wednesday that it had taken control of a new village in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region in a westward push.

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 a long time formed the front line between the armies.

Russia has managed to establish a bridgehead on the western bank this year and Zapadne is located about 4 kilometers (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, which was one of the main places Ukraine recaptured in its 2022 offensive.

The region is under constant shelling with 10 civilians wounded in the last 24 hours according to governor Oleg Synegubov.

This comes as Russian troops are also close to taking the major hub of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying Tuesday that “in the east, we have a difficult situation”.