Russia says it’s captured a southern Ukraine village ahead of winter

Russia claimed on Monday that it captured the Ukrainian village of Levadne as it probes for weakness along the war’s roughly 1,000km front line. 

Many of Ukraine’s eastern areas have become the main focus of Moscow’s military effort as winter approaches. 

Levadne is situated within the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia, which was seized by Russia’s forces early on during the full-scale invasion.  

However, it was recaptured by Ukrainian forces during a counteroffensive in the summer of 2023. 

Ukrainian officials did not comment on the village’s possible capture – though they had previously noted that the Russian army was assembling troops there. 

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported no night-time Shahed drone attacks on the country for the first time in six weeks. 

Five days ago, they had said they struck a Shahed storage facility in Russia’s Krasnodar region where around 400 drones reportedly were being kept. 

Ukraine has struggled to hold back Russia, especially in the eastern Donetsk region, and doesn’t have the manpower or weaponry to launch its own offensive. 

Though Russia’s gains have been incremental, its steady forward movement is slowly adding up as the Ukrainians are pushed backwards. 

Ukraine says it needs more Western help to have a chance of holding back Russia’s invasion.