Russian forces have reportedly rescued an elderly woman and her dog in the liberated village of Pershotravnevoe in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region, the SHOT Telegram channel reported on Friday.
According to the outlet, the Ukrainian Armed Forces previously ordered a mandatory evacuation of the village and occupied people’s homes in an effort to hold on to the settlement.
However, after heavy fighting, Pershotravnevoe was eventually liberated by Russian troops last week. While inspecting the area, Russian soldiers reportedly found the woman, who is said to be around 80 years old.
SHOT reports that the woman had refused to leave her home with Ukrainian soldiers and decided to hide along with her dog despite the intense fighting around the village.
It is reported that the woman and her pet are now safe.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Friday that over the past week, Russian forces have taken control of six settlements, including Pershotravnevoe, as well as the villages of Kremennaya Balka, Maksimovka, Vishnevoye, Kurakhovka, and Antonovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine has lost more than 30,000 troops over the past three months amid its large-scale incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region.
Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club on Thursday, the Russian leader described Kiev’s losses as “colossal,” adding that Ukraine’s decision to invade Kursk made little military sense and was dictated purely by “political considerations” imposed on Kiev by its foreign backers.
Putin went on to say that the price paid by Kiev in service of its Western sponsors is “a terrible tragedy” for both the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian army.
Officials in Kiev have defended the Kursk incursion, claiming that the operation slowed down Russian advances along the eastern front. Media estimates, however, have suggested that despite the incursion, Russian troops have continued to gain ground and captured more territory in October than in any other month this year.