The Russian military has taken the village of Mirnoye in Zaporozhye Region from Ukrainian forces, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
The settlement was “liberated as a result of successful offensive actions” by the units of the Vostok (East) group of forces, the military said in a statement on Sunday.
Mirnoye, which translates into English as ‘peaceful,’ had a population of about 500 before the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The village is located 14 kilometers southwest of the town of Guliaipole. and 77 kilometers southeast of the city of Zaporozhye. Both Guliaipole and Zaporozhye remain under Ukrainian control.
The ministry also said that several attempts by Ukrainian saboteurs and reconnaissance groups to enter Russian territory have been repelled in Belgorod Region over the past 24 hours.
Ukrainian troops have been trying to cross into Russia in the area on an almost a daily basis over the past week, but all of their attacks have been intercepted. Kiev has lost more than 1,500 troops and dozens of military vehicles in the process, including tanks and APCs, according to Moscow.
President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with national media on Wednesday that Russia’s forces have recently been “moving forward along the whole frontline” in the Ukraine conflict.
In February, the Russian military captured Avdeevka, a major Ukrainian stronghold in Russia's People’s Republic of Donetsk, while also taking control of a number of smaller settlements in other locations.