Russian forces captured 42 villages in the eastern Donetsk region on Thursday, but Ukraine might take them back, an aide to the chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told national television.
“Today 42 villages were added to the list of those that have been occupied. This is at the expense of the Donetsk region”, - said the aide, Olena Symonenko.
“This happened today [Thursday] and might be that our forces will win them back tomorrow [Friday]”.
The statements follow Russia’s announcement that it had defeated the Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, also located in the Donetsk region.