Russia claims capture of three more towns in Sumy and Kharkiv regions

Russia's Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday that its troops had captured three additional towns in eastern Ukraine: Marino in Sumy province, and Petrovavlovka and Lozovaya in the Kharkiv region. The ministry described the moves as part of ongoing operations by its Northern group of forces.

In its statement, the ministry claimed that the Ukrainian Army had suffered 245 casualties in the past 24 hours in the sector where the Northern group operates. It also reported higher casualty figures attributed to other Russian force groupings: 415 for the Central group, 275 for the Eastern group, 220 for the Western group, and 160 for the Southern group. These figures could not be independently verified.

Moscow has in recent months regularly announced advances in eastern Ukraine, with a particular focus on Donetsk province. Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk, both part of the Donbas region, have been the site of a confrontation between pro-Russian separatist militias and Ukrainian government forces since 2014.

The reported captures come amid continued fighting along multiple fronts in eastern and northeastern Ukraine. According to Mehr News, the Russian Defense Ministry provided the details in a statement, but no independent confirmation of the territorial claims or casualty figures was immediately available.