Russia says it takes two more Ukrainian villages, struck energy targets overnight

Russia captured two more frontline villages in southeast Ukraine and an island in southern Ukraine, its Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

It was also reported by Ukraine's military that there was success near the town of Dobropillia, an area in the Donetsk region, where officials say Kyiv’s troops are pushing forward.

Russia’s military has been pushing slowly westward along the eastern front, announcing new territorial gains nearly every day. Its forces currently occupy about 19% of Ukraine.

The Russian Defence Ministry says Russia now controlls Pavlivka in Zaporizhzhia region in the southeast, which is one of four regions that are claimed as Russian territory, and Ivanivka, inside Dnipropetrovsk region, where they have established a foothold. 

In a statement on Telegram, the ministry also said that Ukrainian energy infrastructure has been struck as well in what they said was a response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian targets. 

Ukrainian officials earlier reported that six people were killed in overnight Russian strikes. 

Reuters couldn't independently verify battlefield accounts from either side.

Russian news agencies quoted the Defence Ministry saying paratroopers had crossed the Dnipro River and seized Karantynnyi Island near Kherson.

Ukraine’s military earlier said a similar landing attempt had failed.

Kherson, occupied early in the 2022 invasion, was later retaken by Ukrainian forces.

In Donetsk, Ukraine’s 132nd airborne battalion reported capturing the village of Kucheriv Yar near Dobropillia.

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