Moscow: Russian forces have taken control of four settlements in eastern Ukraine over the past week and carried out a series of large-scale strikes on Ukrainian military and infrastructure targets, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.

According to Anadolu Agency, the Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement claiming that the villages of Karaichne and Budarky in the Kharkiv region, along with Novopidhorodnie and Lisne in the Dnipropetrovsk region, are now under Russian control. The ministry detailed that between May 23 and 29, Russian forces executed one large-scale and five coordinated strikes using high-precision air-, sea- and ground-launched weapons, in addition to attack drones.

The strikes reportedly targeted enterprises linked to Ukraine's defense industry, fuel and energy facilities, transport and port infrastructure used by the military, air bases, drone assembly and storage sites, and temporary deployment points for Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries. Moscow stated these operations were conducted in response to Ukrainian attacks on civilian facilities inside Russia.

Earlier this week, Russia advised foreign diplomats to evacuate Kyiv in anticipation of what it described as a new wave of strikes on the Ukrainian capital. This warning was largely dismissed by Western officials and diplomats.

Ukraine responded with drone attacks, targeting two significant oil facilities in Russia's Yaroslavl and Volgograd regions. Regional authorities reported that two civilians were killed in the Volgograd strike. Additionally, officials in Russia's Krasnodar region reported that an air raid initiated a fire at the port of Temryuk.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that 208 drones were intercepted across the country overnight. Ukraine has not commented on these claims, and independent verification of battlefield reports remains challenging due to the ongoing conflict.