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

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.