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Moscow rejects Kiev’s claims about capturing villages, says has repelled Ukraine’s offensives in southeast

Monday, 12 June 2023 9:58 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 13 June 2023 6:47 AM ]

This file photo shows Russian soldiers loading artillery in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia. (Via AP)

Russia says it has repelled attacks by Ukrainian forces on several villages in the southeastern regions of Ukraine, rejecting earlier claims by Kiev that its troops have "liberated" those villages from Russian control.

In a statement on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said the country's forces have successfully fought off three Ukrainian assaults near the town of Velyka Novosilka, which is located in the eastern region of Donetsk where Kiev has claimed gains.

"Decisive actions of defending units — [including] artillery fire and heavy flamethrower systems of the Vostok grouping — repelled three enemy attacks," the statement added.

According to the ministry, Russian forces also foiled Ukraine's attacks west of Velyka Novosilka, around the nearby village of Levadne in the neighboring southern region of Zaporizhzhia.

Earlier on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that his country's forces had retaken "seven villages" in those regions, alleging that Ukrainian troops had "de-occupied" the territories in question.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Ganna Malyar also said on the Telegram messaging app that "seven settlements were liberated."

Zelensky had confirmed on Saturday that his country has launched a counteroffensive against Russian forces.

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Russia has called Ukraine

Russia began what it calls a special military operation against its neighbor last February, saying the offensive was aimed at defending Ukraine's pro-Russian population in Donetsk and Luhansk, another eastern Ukrainian region, against persecution by the Kiev regime.

Several Ukrainian regions have ever since voted in separate referendums in favor of joining the Russian Federation.

Kiev and its Western allies, however, accuse Moscow of seizing those territories by force.

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The West has also been pumping Ukraine full of state-of-the-art weaponry and other military equipment despite Russia's repeated warnings that such a measure would only prolong the war and torpedo prospects of peace between the two countries.

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