Russian state media reported Friday — citing the Russian Defense Ministry — their forces have taken control of five settlements in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, including the village of Novodmitrovsk.
The report, from Russia’s state-run Ria Novosti news service, said Russian forces defeated one tank, four mechanized, one infantry, three Ukrainian Army Jaeger brigades, “two marine brigades, three territorial defense brigades and two National Guard brigades. They also managed to repel 68 counterattacks.”
The report has not been verified.
The Russian report comes as Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov was in Stockholm Friday for meetings with his Swedish counterpart, Pal Jonson. Jonson announced that Sweden, one of NATO’s newest member nations, was pledging $2.2 billion in support for Ukraine for 2025 and 2026, and said there is a “deepened cooperation” between the two nations.
During a joint news conference, the two defense ministers discussed Russia’s current offensive, including Russia’s launch this week of an intermediate-range missile targeting the city of Dnipro. Jonson said Sweden called the launch an attempt to scare them and other nations from supporting Ukraine, which he said will fail.
Jonson told Umerov Sweden’s support for Ukraine was “an investment into our own security, because your security is also our security.”
In a nationwide televised address late Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged it had launched the intermediate-range missile, which Ukraine originally claimed was an intercontinental ballistic missile, in response to the United States and Britain permitting Kyiv to use their longer-range missiles against Russia.
In the address, Putin warned it could use the new weapon, which has a range of 800 kilometers, against those nations.
Some analysts, such as Keir Giles of Britain’s Chatham House, have called the missile launch and Putin’s comments scare tactics. He said the last thing Putin wants to do is attack a NATO member.
At the Stockholm news conference Friday, Ukraine’s Umerov said Russia’s missile launch was the second time the nation has escalated the war in Ukraine in recent months, citing the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops on the Russian border. He said Ukraine is working on “replying” to the launch.
Umerov did acknowledge the situation on the front lines is difficult, but said Ukraine is resisting, and Russia is suffering huge personnel and equipment losses.
Meanwhile, regional officials in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Friday reported that Russian strikes killed at least two people and injured at least 12.
The officials say the suspected drone attack struck a residential neighborhood, damaging apartment buildings, private residences, and businesses. They reported rescue operations were under way.
Sumy lies across the border from Russia’s Kursk region, where the Ukrainian army launched an incursion earlier this year.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
