INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Moscow said Thursday that its military captured another village in eastern Ukraine, where in recent weeks Russian troops have reported
incremental battlefield advances.Russian forces are rushing to claim as much Ukrainian territory as possible ahead of the arrival of U.S
weapons and equipment to Kyiv's forces after months of wrangling over the military aid package in Congress.The Russian Defense Ministry said
Thursday that its forces had "fully liberated the settlement of Berdychi."Over the weekend, Ukraine's commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky
said Kyiv had retreated from Berdychi, located near the Moscow-held town of Adviika, as well as two other nearby villages to protect "the
lives and health of our defenders."Syrsky called the area around Berdychi the "most complicated" part of the front line and conceded that
Russia has made "certain tactical successes" there.Berdychi is just the latest in a string of small villages in eastern Ukraine that Russia
has claimed in recent weeks.Moscow has made some gains in the area since taking control of Avdiivka in February
Ukraine said at the time that it had established defensive lines in Berdychi after the fall of the nearby village of Lastochkyne.
