The military agency stated on its official Telegram channel that units of the “North” group are continuing to close the encirclement around Ukrainian Armed Forces formations in the northeast of the Kharkiv region and are expanding their outer zone of control.

  As part of their offensive operations, they took control of the settlement of Khripuni in the aforementioned region, the military ministry’s statement said.

  The Russian Ministry of Defense estimated Ukrainian Army casualties at around 1,515 over the last 24 hours.

  The “Center” group inflicted the highest number of casualties on the enemy—420—followed by the “North” (over 300), “East” (up to 290), “West” (over 230), “South” (over 230), and “Dnieper” (up to 45) groups.

  Ukrainian losses in military hardware over the past day include one main battle tank, 10 armored vehicles, 13 standard artillery pieces, 98 military vehicles, 13 electronic warfare stations, and 505 fixed-wing drones.

  Since February 24, 2022, Russia has been conducting a special military operation in Ukraine. According to President Vladimir Putin, its objectives are to protect the population of the Donbas from “genocide by the Kyiv regime” and to counter the national security risks posed by the eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

  Ukrainian troops are receiving military support from that alliance of 32 countries, led by the United States and comprising the United Kingdom, Canada, and the majority of European Union states.

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