Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that Krynky, a village on the left bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine, was “completely” under Russian control at the moment.
Shoigu called Krynky “a bastion” for his troops “for further advance and deployment of forces.”
Ukraine's Operational Command denied Shoigu's claim, describing it as “a manipulation and falsification of facts.”
“The defense forces of southern Ukraine continue to hold their positions, inflicting significant losses on the enemy,” the command said.
A video shared by pro-Ukrainian bloggers shows Russian soldiers raising a flag in the area, but then fleeing, apparently contradicting Shoigu's claim.
CNN was unable to geolocate the images or independently verify the status of the battlefield.
Months ago, Russian officials expressed concern about Ukraine establishing a foothold in Krynky.
Elsewhere on the battlefield: In eastern Ukraine, images geolocated by CNN on Wednesday showed Russian forces raising their flag over the Donetsk village of Pobieda, near Mariinka. Russian military bloggers said Ukrainian forces had “pulled back” and were regrouping in positions to the south.
In southern Ukraine, along the Zaporizhzhian front, Moscow has been advancing for weeks towards the east and north towards Robotyne, as well as towards the west towards Mala Tokmachka.
Russia said on Wednesday it had inflicted heavy losses on Ukrainian forces in the area but stopped short of saying it had made visible progress. Ukraine also claimed that it had inflicted heavy losses on Russian units.
CNN could not independently verify either the Ukrainian or Russian claims.
