Russia says captured village near Ukraine's Chasiv Yar

MOSCOW: Russia said Sunday its forces had completely captured Bogdanivka, a frontline village less than three kilometres (two miles) northeast from the Ukrainian-held town of Chasiv Yar.

Moscow has made a number of gains on the front in recent months, pressing its advantage as Kyiv struggles with shortages of vital munitions from its Western allies.

“Units of the southern grouping of troops have completely liberated the settlement of Bogdanivka,” Russia’s defence ministry said in a daily briefing.

Bogdanivka lies between Chasiv Yar and Bakhmut, a Ukrainian city that Moscow’s forces claimed to fully capture in May 2023 after one of the bloodiest battles of Moscow’s two-year offensive.

Kyiv’s forces said earlier this month that the battlefield situation around Chasiv Yar was “difficult and tense”, and that Russia was unleashing constant fire.

Chasiv Yar, which had a population of around 13,000 before the conflict, has been largely destroyed by fighting and most of its residents have fled.