KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥 Russia has pushed Ukrainian forces from one of their last remaining footholds in Russia's Kursk region, officials said Saturday.
According to Russia鈥檚 Defense Ministry, its forces took control of the village of Oleshnya, on the border with Ukraine.
鈥淯nits of the 鈥楴orth鈥 military group have liberated the village of Oleshnya in the Kursk region during active offensive operations,鈥 the ministry said in a statement. The Associated Press was unable to immediately verify the claim and there was no immediate response from Ukrainian officials.
According to Russian state news agency TASS, Russia is still fighting to push Ukrainian forces out of the village of Gornal, some seven miles (11 kilometers) south of Oleshnya.
鈥淭he Russian military has yet to push the Ukrainian Armed Forces out of Gornal ... in order to completely liberate the Kursk region. Fierce fighting is underway in the settlement,鈥 the agency reported, citing Russia security agencies.
Russian and North Korean soldiers have nearly deprived Kyiv of a key bargaining chip by retaking most of the region, where Ukrainian troops staged a last year.
In other developments, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia fired 87 exploding drones and decoys in the latest wave of attacks overnight into Saturday. It said 33 of them were intercepted and another 36 were lost, likely having been electronically jammed.
Russian attacks damaged farms in the Odesa region and sparked fires in the Sumy region overnight, Ukraine鈥檚 State Emergency Service said Saturday. Fires were contained, and no casualties were reported.
Russia鈥檚 Ministry of Defense, meanwhile, said its air defense systems shot down two Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday.
