Russian troops have taken control of Sopych village in the Sumy region to north of Ukraine and Kalenyky in the Donetsk region to the east, the Russian Ministry of Defense said on March 17.
This announcement was made a day after Moscow and Kiev made contradictory statements about which side is gaining the upper hand along the 1,250km front line in the 5th year of conflict.
The armed forces of the Russian Federation have controlled the Kalenyky settlement (Donetsk), and at the same time established control over the Sopych settlement in the Sumy region" - a statement on Telegram of the Russian Ministry of Defense stated.
In the latest report, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that the country's air defense units intercepted 35 UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) of Ukraine between 13:00 and 20:00 (local time), mostly in the Krasnodar area near the eastern border of Ukraine.
Previously, on March 16, in assessing the progress of Russian forces, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said that the Russian army is continuing to establish "buffer zones" in the Sumy and Kharkiv areas.
Sopych is located close to the border with Russia in the Sumy region, where Russian forces have been trying to establish a presence for months.
Kalenyky is located in the east of the city of Sloviansk - an area heavily defended. In his assessment, Mr. Gerasimov said that Russian troops are "actively advancing towards Sloviansk".
Also on March 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kiev forces had broken a Russian offensive plan, with combat intensity "not as Russia planned and their commanders committed to the political leadership".
