Russia said on Friday that its forces had taken control of five settlements, while Ukraine on the same day reported intercepting multiple Russian missiles over the past day.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian forces had launched one massive strike and four coordinated group strikes against Ukraine over the past week, with the targets including Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises, as well as its energy, transport, airfield and port infrastructure.
It added that ammunition and fuel depots, drone sites, and temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed forces and foreign mercenaries were also hit.
Russian forces had taken control of five settlements during the week, the ministry said, adding that its air defense systems had shot down 21 guided aerial bombs, 14 U.S.-made HIMARS rockets, five long-range guided Neptune missiles, and 1,327 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.
On the same day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that a total of 97 battles took place on the front line as of Friday afternoon, of which 27 occurred in the direction of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk). The Ukrainian forces repelled multiple Russian attacks.
In addition, the Ukrainian air force intercepted and interfered with multiple Russian drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles on Thursday evening.
Late at night on Friday, multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Previously, Kyiv had sounded air raid sirens.
Russia reports controlling multiple settlements as Ukraine claims intercepting Russian missiles
