Russian army claims capture of two villages in Eastern Ukraine

Russia claimed on Monday that its forces took control of two more villages in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Kharkiv regions.

A statement by the Defense Ministry said soldiers on the frontline captured the village of Kotlyarivka, about 26 km (16.1 miles) from the city of Kupiansk, a point of major clashes in the over two-year-long Ukraine war.

The ministry said forces also took the village of Soloviove, about 5 km (3.1 miles) south of the village of Ocheretyne, which Moscow claimed to have captured on Sunday.

It said Russian forces took "more advantageous positions" along the frontline in both regions.

Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the claims, and independent verification is difficult due to the ongoing war.