The Russian Ministry of Defense announced this Saturday that its armed forces have managed to take control of five localities located in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv, as part of the offensive that Moscow maintains open in the east of the country.
According to the military report, "Units of the West troop group advanced towards more advantageous lines and positions. As a result of their actions, they have taken control of the localities of Shiikovka, Novi Mir, Cherneschina, and Druzheliubovka, in the Kharkiv region" and the "liberation of the locality of Vaislevka, in the Donetsk People's Republic" in advances by the Center Group, the statement reads.
The balance sheet released by the Russian authorities puts the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed in these operations at more than 540, to which would be added another 810 casualties registered in different sectors of the front, data that could not be independently corroborated by external sources.
The Ministry added that, in the last 24 hours, its anti-aircraft defense systems have intercepted and destroyed 16 guided aerial bombs, 10 long-range Flamingo cruise missiles, nine rockets launched by Himars multiple launch systems, and a total of 893 drones.
The day has also been marked by the Russian announcement of the conquest of the strategic locality of Konstantinovka, in the Donetsk region, a claim that has been rejected by the authorities in Kyiv.
"It is just another Russian lie, an attempt to generate some news. If Konstantinovka were under Russian control, perhaps Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a diplomatic way to end this war. But the reality is that he will not cross the front line; the reality is very different from his words," the leader stated.