Russia says it has taken five villages in Ukraine

MOSCOW: Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday that its forces have taken four villages in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, and one more in the neighbouring Donetsk region.In its daily briefing, the ministry said Russian forces had taken control of Shyikivka, Novyi Myr, Cherneshchyna and Druzhelyubivka in Kharkiv region, as well as Vasylivka in Donetsk region.Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports.Rejecting Russian claims that Kostiantynivka has been captured, President Zelensky and the General Staff said on Saturday that Ukraine still controls the strategically important eastern city.Russia’s military told President Vladimir Putin on Friday that its forces had taken control of Kostiantynivka, a target that Moscow has long sought in its advance through the Donetsk region.“Of course, that is not true. It is just another Russian lie, an attempt to generate some kind of a news story,” Zelensky said on X. “If Kostiantynivka were under Russian control, then perhaps (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a diplomatic way to finally end this war,” the Ukrainian President added.Kostiantynivka is the southernmost of four key settlements that form a defensive line central to Ukraine’s effort to hold the heavily industrialised Donetsk region.Analysts say capturing the city would give Russian forces a foothold to advance north along the defensive belt, the main focus of their current campaign.Russia’s military has for some time reported controlling parts of Kostiantynivka, one of several heavily fortified cities that make up Ukraine’s so-called “fortress belt” in Donetsk.(This is a Reuters story)