The pro-Russian administration said that Ukrainian troops captured the village of Petikhatky in the Zaporizhzhia region on Sunday, suffering heavy losses, dpa reports. The Russian Ministry of Defense denies the information.

“Ukrainian troops managed to take (the village) under their control,” Volodymyr Rogov, a representative of the administration loyal to Moscow, wrote on Telegram on Sunday, Agerpres writes.

He said Ukrainian forces had managed to capture the village despite “colossal casualties” in waves of attacks, claiming hundreds of Ukrainian troops had been killed. There was no confirmation from the Ukrainian side.

Now this area is being shelled by artillery from the Russian side with the aim of encircling Ukrainian troops, Rogov said, noting that fierce battles are taking place.

However, the Russian government on Sunday denied the information of the leader installed in the south of Ukraine, CNN reports, citing news.ro.

“The attack on Pyatikhatki was repulsed. More than a dozen tanks, armored vehicles and personnel (of the Armed Forces of Ukraine) were destroyed,” the press center of the Russian battalion said on the Telegram page of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.

Both camps “suffer heavy losses”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces report fighting on several front lines. Images of powerful explosions and fires were shared on social media, showing Ukrainian aircraft striking a large Russian ammunition depot near the city of Henichesk in the occupied Kherson region.

Both Ukraine and Russia are “suffering heavy casualties” amid fierce fighting at the front, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said at its daily briefing on Sunday.

According to him, Russian troops suffered the biggest losses since the battle for the city of Bakhmut in March. The British ministry did not provide an estimate of the number of dead and injured.

The report notes that the most intense fighting is taking place in Zaporizhzhia, in the west of Donetsk region and near Bakhmut.

“Ukraine continues to conduct offensive operations in all these directions and has made little progress.” In the south, on the contrary, Russia often manages “relatively effective defensive operations.”

Britain’s Ministry of Defense has published daily reports on the war in Ukraine since it began almost 16 months ago, but Moscow accuses London of waging a disinformation campaign.