The Russian armed forces have captured the settlement of Belitskoye in the Donetsk region and pounded Ukrainian military ports over the past 24 hours, while the Ukrainian army claimed to have repelled Russian attacks in multiple directions and struck several Russian targets during the same period.
In its daily operational briefing on Thursday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said its forces now have full control of the Belitskoye settlement. Over the past day, the Russian army dispatched aviation, drone, as well as missile and artillery troops to strike Ukrainian facilities producing and storing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), fuel and energy infrastructure, and troop deployment points, among other targets.
The Russian forces conducted group strikes on Ukrainian port facilities in Odesa, hitting infrastructure used for unloading and storing military cargo as well as fuel and lubricant storage tanks, according to the ministry.
The Russian air defense systems also intercepted multiple guided bombs and U.S.-made rockets, and shot down 480 Ukrainian drones over the course of the day, the ministry added.
In its own release on the latest development on the battleground, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported 261 clashes along the front lines in the previous 24 hours, adding that the army repelled Russian attacks in multiple directions while striking multiple Russian troop concentration areas and key military targets.
The Ukrainian Air Force also said that the Russian army launched missile and drone attacks involving over 100 UAVs, with most incoming threats intercepted by its air defense systems, according to the release.
In another development, Russia's top diplomat delivered a pointed message directly to the United States, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the Philippines on Thursday.
During the meeting, Lavrov told Rubio that continued Western arms supplies to Ukraine were "unacceptable" to Moscow, according to a press release of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Lavrov reaffirmed Russia's readiness for a political and diplomatic settlement in Ukraine, the release said.
