Russia and Ukraine Duel Over Kharkiv Settlement; Odesa Strike Wounds 17
Russia claims it took Kozacha Lopan in Kharkiv; Ukraine denies, citing ongoing battles. An Odesa strike wounds 17, including children.
Russia and Ukraine are at odds over the status of a key settlement in the Kharkiv region, with Moscow claiming its forces have taken control while Kyiv insists the area remains contested.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its troops had captured Kozacha Lopan, a settlement in northern Kharkiv that serves as a major logistics hub and transport node for Ukrainian forces. The ministry also reported seizing Sviatohirsk in the Donetsk region and conducting group strikes with air-launched precision weapons and drones against Ukrainian logistics centers, ports, vessels, and energy infrastructure.
Ukraine's 14th Army Corps immediately rejected the claim, stating that Kozacha Lopan is still under Ukrainian control. The corps acknowledged that the situation is tense and the battlefield dynamic, but said its forces are holding designated lines and conducting active defense operations amid fierce fighting.
In a separate development, the head of the Odesa City Military Administration, Lysak, reported that a Russian strike in the early hours of Thursday wounded 17 people, including three children. The attack damaged a high-rise apartment building and several vehicles. All the injured have received medical treatment. Russia has not yet commented on the Odesa strike.