tanks, mortar and artillery
\n MOSCOW
\nFighting has \u201csharply increased\u201d in the southern Ukraine region of Zaporizhzhia, where the front has been largely stagnant for months, a senior Moscow-installed official in the area said Friday.
\n\u201cIn the direction of Zaporizhzhia, the intensity of military activity has sharply increased,\u201d the official, Vladimir Rogov, said on the Telegram social media platform.
\nBoth Rogov and the Russian army said Moscow\u2019s forces had seized the village of Lobkove, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the Ukrainian-held regional capital also called Zaporizhzhia.
\n\u201cLobkove is ours,\u201d Rogov said.
\nHe added that Russian forces had fired at Ukrainian positions with \u201ctanks, mortar and artillery\u201d in a dozen villages in the region.
\nThe Ukrainian army said Friday that \u201cmore than 20 settlements\u201d had been attacked.
\nRogov had announced a \u201clocal offensive\u201d in the region \u2014 near the town of Orikhiv \u2014 a day earlier.
\nHe told the Russian state-run TASS news agency on Friday that this was \u201cnot yet the storming\u201d of the town, which lies south-east of Zaporizhzhia, but that fighting had reached its suburbs.
\n\u201cHills have been taken that determine fire control over Orikhiv and other settlements,\u201d he said.
\nThe front in southern Ukraine has been considerably quieter recently than the east, with Moscow withdrawing from the major city of Kherson in November.
\nAlso on Friday, Russia said it had captured a hamlet south of the eastern town of Bakhmut, now the epicenter of fighting between Kyiv and Moscow\u2019s forces.
\nThe defense ministry said pro-Russian separatist forces with artillery and aviation support had taken control of Klishchiivka in the eastern region of Donetsk.
\nKlishchiivka, which had an estimated population of around 500 people before Moscow sent troops to Ukraine, lies southwest of Bakhmut, suggesting Russian forces were attempting to encircle the town.
\nRussia launched its offensive to seize the industrial hub last year but has failed to make decisive gains, although capturing the Donetsk region is now Russia\u2019s primary aim of the conflict.
\nThe defense ministry and mercenary group Wagner said last week they had wrested control of Soledar in Donetsk, Moscow\u2019s first claim of victory after months of battlefield setbacks.
\nZaporizhzhia and Donetsk are two of four Ukrainian regions that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in September were annexed and part of Russia.
\nThe Kremlin has vowed to use all available means to push Ukraine forces from them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
tanks, mortar and artillery MOSCOW Fighting has \u201csharply increased\u201d in the southern Ukraine region of Zaporizhzhia, where the front has been largely stagnant for months, a senior Moscow-installed official in the area said Friday. \u201cIn the direction of Zaporizhzhia, the intensity of military activity has sharply increased,\u201d the official, Vladimir Rogov, said on the Telegram […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-308884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n