Russia has announced that it has captured Artilne and Blagodatne
This has been reported by ThePublic, citing the Russian Ministry of Defence and an operational update from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Russian ministry announced that it had established control over Artilne on 22 July. According to the Russian side, the village was occupied by units of the ‘North’ military group.
Artilne is situated in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region, close to the state border with Russia. In this area, Russian troops are attempting to expand the border zone of hostilities and advance deeper into the region.
The Russian Ministry of Defence also announced the capture of Blahodatne in the Zaporizhzhia region. According to the Russian command, units of the ‘East’ military group entered the village.
This refers to Blahodatne near the administrative border between the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Russian troops are attempting to advance in this area from previously occupied positions.
What the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reports
In its update as of 22:00 on 22 July, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not confirm the occupation of Artilne or Blahodatne.
The Ukrainian command reported that, over the past 24 hours, Russian troops had launched nine assaults on the positions of the Defence Forces in the Southern Slobozhanshchyna sector. Fighting took place in the Fiholivka area and in the direction of Ternova, Prylipka, Kutkivka and Malyi Burluk.
In the Oleksandrivka sector, Russian attacks were recorded near Ternove and Kalynivske. In the Huliaipole sector, Ukrainian forces repelled assaults in the direction of Vozdvizhivka, Dobropillia, Staroukrainka, Hirkyi, Tsvitkove and Charivne.
In its morning update for 23 July, the General Staff also made no mention of the loss of Artilne or Blahodatne. The Ukrainian military stated that they are continuing to defend their positions across all sections of the front.
Can these villages be considered occupied?
Statements by the Russian Ministry of Defence do not constitute independent confirmation of a change in the front line. The Russian command has repeatedly announced the capture of settlements before fighting had concluded or following incursions by small assault groups.
Occupation can only be confirmed following the release of geolocated evidence, updates to Ukrainian military maps, or an official statement from the Defence Forces command. At the time of publication, there is no such confirmation regarding Artilne and Blahodatne.
The figures cited by the Russian Ministry of Defence regarding the alleged losses of Ukrainian troops cannot be verified by independent sources either.
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