Russia Says It Seized Control of Ukrainian Village

(MENAFN) Russia's Defense Ministry asserted Tuesday that its ground forces had seized yet another settlement in Ukraine's embattled Zaporizhzhia region, as the conflict surged past the four-year mark with no signs of abating.

According to a ministry statement, the village of Rizdvyanka fell under Russian control following offensive operations conducted by the Vostok (East) group of forces — the latest in a series of incremental territorial claims Moscow has advanced across the region.

Ukraine's military struck back on multiple fronts. In a separate statement published on Facebook, Ukraine's General Staff confirmed its forces had delivered precision strikes against Russian command infrastructure, supply depots, and maintenance facilities using US-supplied ATACMS ballistic missiles.

"This time, in particular, ATACMS missiles were used. On the night of Feb. 24, 2026, units of the missile forces and artillery of the ground forces hit an auxiliary control point of the 5th Army of the Russian Federation in the area of Novopetrikovka in the Donetsk region," it said on Facebook.

The dueling announcements arrived on a day of stark symbolic significance — Tuesday marking exactly four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

As with all battlefield claims emanating from either side, independent verification remains deeply difficult given the active and highly restricted nature of the conflict zone.

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