Russia claims to have taken over village of Pobieda in Ukraine's Donetsk region

Russian troops have taken over the village of Pobieda in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, said the Russian defence ministry, on Thursday (Feb 22). While, the Ukrainian military denied the claim and said it was repelling attacks in the region.

Russian forces capture another village

“On the Donetsk front, units of the ‘Southern’ group of troops liberated the village of Pobeda and improved their position along the front line,” said the Russian defence ministry.

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If confirmed, the capture would mark a loss for Ukraine, a week after Kyiv said that Russian forces had taken over Avdiivka after months of battle.

WATCH |Russia-Ukraine War: Russia claims capture of Krynky and new advances in Dnipro bridgehead

Russia’s defence ministry said that it had taken the village and improved its position in several other areas of the Donetsk region.

Russia’s claim about capturing another Ukrainian village also comes a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky seemingly downplayed the loss of Avdiivka to Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.

Last week, Russia’s takeover of the Ukrainian town marked its biggest battlefield gain since its forces captured Bakhmut last May. In a recent interview, Zelensky alsoacknowledged that 2023 has been “complicated” for Kyiv, particularly the last few months.

“During these two years we got (back) part of the Kharkiv region. Now we are in this region ... and we unblocked the Black Sea. There are grain routes and we destroyed a lot of their ships of the Russian fleet,” said Zelensky.

He added, “That is what we did over two years. And what they could do? Only this one place. But what for?”

Fighting continues

Ukraine in a briefing before Russia’s statement said that their troops were repelling attacks near the village and continuing to “contain the enemy.”

“Russians are concentrating their main activity on the Donetsk region,” said Ukraine’s senior commander in the area, Oleksandr Tarnavsky.

Zelensky rejects Russia’s claim on Krynky

Zelensky, on Thursday, rejected Russia’s claims to have seized Krynky, Ukraine’s bridgehead on the Russian-occupied side of the Dnipro river.

Also Read |Russia claims it has taken back Ukraine bridgehead on Dnipro’s left bank

“Krynky – our marines are firmly holding the bridgehead,” said the Ukrainian president in a post on Telegram adding that “the enemy managed only a disinformation operation”.

Russia, on Tuesday (Feb 20) claimed a new military success in Ukraine ahead of the second anniversary of its “special military operation,” while President Vladimir Putin mocked what he called Kyiv’s “flight” from the frontline town of Avdiivka.

Ukraine alleges use of North Korean missiles

Ukrainian security service (SBU), on Thursday (Feb 22) alleged that Russia used North Korean missiles in several attacks that killed more than 20 people and left dozens of others injured.

“According to the investigation, Russian troops released more than 20 North Korean weapons over Ukraine...at least 24 civilians were killed and more than a hundred seriously injured,” said the SBU.

Also Read |Russia fires North Korean missiles at Ukraine for first time - Kyiv official

The Ukrainian military identified the weapons as “Hwasong-11 ballistic missiles” and posted images of the fragments on Telegram. Moscow also launched Pyongyang-supplied missiles in the frontline regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv, said the SBU.

In January, when reports of North Korea supplying weapons to Russia first emerged, nearly 50 nations, including the United States, countries in the European Union, and South Korea condemned the alleged transfer.

(With inputs from agencies)

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