A group of Russian volunteer forces fighting with Ukraine have captured the village of Tyotkino inside Russia, the group said Tuesday, after Moscow claimed to have pushed back attacks on two border regions.
"The settlement of Tyotkino in the Kursk region is entirely under the control of Russian liberation forces," the Freedom of Russia Legion wrote on social media, claiming that Russian military was withdrawing from the village.
Russia shuts schools in city of Kursk after border incursions
Russia said it had shut schools in the southern city of Kursk until the end of the week because of the incursions by pro-Kyiv militias and increased Ukrainian drone attacks.
"In connection with recent events, I have taken the decision to put schools on remote learning," Kursk Mayor Igor Kutsak said on social media, adding that the measures will last until Friday.
Ukrainian drone hits Belgorod city hall A
Meanwhile, the mayor of the Russian border city of Belgorod said a Ukrainian drone hit city hall, injuring two people and blowing out the building's windows.
The strike came amid a wave of attacks on Russia's border regions and an announcement by Moscow that it had foiled multiple attempted cross-border raids by pro-Ukrainian paramilitaries.
"In Belgorod, an enemy drone crashed into the city administration building," governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.
One person received shrapnel wounds and another was concussed, he said.
Belgorod Mayor Valentin Demidov posted photos of blown-out windows and damage to the building's facade on his Telegram channel.
"The device crashed into the entrance of the building," he said.
Russia says it has captured village in Ukraine's Donetsk region
Russia on Tuesday said that its forces had captured the village of Nevelske in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, where Russian troops have made recent gains.
Moscow has recently been able to leverage Ukrainian shortages of ammunition and servicemen to gain ground in the east, ahead of presidential elections this week.
The defence ministry said in a statement that Russian forces had captured Nevelske and taken up "more favourable lines and positions" in the region that the Kremlin claimed to have annexed in 2022.
Faced with hold-ups to much-needed Western aid, Ukraine has lost ground to Russia over the past three months, withdrawing from the industrial hub of Avdiivka in February.
Donetsk, which was annexed by Moscow along with three other southern and eastern regions, has seen the worst fighting of Russia's full-scale military offensive, now in its third year.
© Agence France-Presse