The latest military update from Russia emphasises that soldiers “liberated” the Zarechnoye settlement in the Zaporizhia region of Ukraine, “advancing deeper into enemy defences”.

According to Al-Jazeera, the Russian Ministry of Defence released aerial footage of bombings and drone attacks on Ukrainian positions in the settlement, adding that an area of nine square kilometres (3.5 square miles) was cleared.

The ministry also reported heavy fighting in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kherson regions, claiming that more than 1,400 Ukrainian soldiers were killed.

Extensive strikes were reported on Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, energy facilities and transport infrastructure in 147 locations, with the Russian army saying an array of Western-supplied equipment, including artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, was destroyed over the past day.

The Russian army also said that 31 more Ukrainian drones have now been shot down since the last reporting period a few hours ago.

MNA