Russia Claims Three Settlements as Ukraine Reports 205 Front-Line Battles
Russia says it captured three settlements in Sumy and Kharkiv; Ukraine reports 205 battles and strikes on drone sites.
Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces took control of three settlements in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions over the past 24 hours, according to a statement released on Saturday.
The ministry said its troops struck Ukrainian transport infrastructure and sites used for the deployment of troops and foreign mercenaries across 152 areas. It also said a data processing centre in Kiev that supports mobile internet and Starlink satellite communications for the Ukrainian military was hit.
Air defences, the ministry added, downed 645 Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod and Bryansk regions and the Black Sea by 8:00 on Saturday.
Ukraine's General Staff, in its own account of the past day, reported 205 battles along the front line. It said the Ukrainian Air Force, missile troops and artillery struck three Russian drone command and launch sites, six artillery systems and an ammunition depot.
Ukrainian forces also launched multiple attacks in the northern and southern Slobozhansk and Kursk directions, the General Staff said.
The competing claims could not be independently verified. Both sides have consistently reported heavy drone and artillery activity along the front line and in border regions.