Russia says captured two villages in eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian servicemen launch a reconnaissance drone for flying over positions of Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine May 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 27 May 2024
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Russia says captured two villages in eastern Ukraine

  • Moscow is looking to press its advantage on the battlefield while long-awaited US weapons are making their way to Ukrainian troops on the front lines

MOSCOW: Russia said on Monday its forces had captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine — one in the Donetsk region, and another in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
In a daily briefing, the defense ministry said its troops had “liberated the village of Netailove in the Donetsk region” and “Ivanivka in the Kharkiv region,” the latest in a string of Russian territorial gains over recent weeks.
Russia launched a major new ground assault on the northeastern Kharkiv region two weeks ago, though the latest claim of captured territory is in a part of the front line further east, where fighting has been raging for months.
Moscow is looking to press its advantage on the battlefield while long-awaited US weapons are making their way to Ukrainian troops on the front lines.
Its advances in the Kharkiv region have been the most significant for 18 months, according to AFP calculations of territory captured by Russian troops.
Kyiv has rushed reinforcements to the area and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned it could be the first wave of a Russian summer offensive.


Hot winds fan dozens of bushfires across eastern Australia

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Hot winds fan dozens of bushfires across eastern Australia

SYDNEY: Dozens of bushfires burned along Australia’s eastern seaboard on Saturday, destroying several houses as a blistering heatwave set in.
More than 50 bushfires were burning in New South Wales on Saturday afternoon, the state’s Rural Fire Service said, although the vast majority were considered “under control.”
A blaze north of Sydney had destroyed six houses, national broadcaster ABC said, while a small number of homes were lost in a bushfire on the state’s mid-north coast.
One bushfire had burned through more than 9,000 hectares (20,000 acres) in the Goulburn River National Park.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Dean Narramore said hot and dry winds were fanning temperatures across the state nearing 40C.
“This is a dangerous few hours,” he said.
“Unfortunately this heat has been associated with hot and gusty winds as well, and that’s what really driving these dangerous and extreme fire dangers.”
Bushfires are a common occurrence in Australia’s summer months, and it is not unheard for dozens of blazes to burn through sparsely populated areas on hot and windy days.