"Units from Russia's Eastern Group of Forces liberated the town of Gulaypole in the Zaporozhye region, reported the Russian Defence Ministry. Footage released on Saturday shows explosions following strikes on enemy positions, as well as servicemen storming buildings and raising Russian flags. "Thanks to the clear leadership of our commanders and the decisive actions of our soldiers, Gulaypole is now under our control. <...> To your right is the administration building, where fierce battles with AFU soldiers took place," said one of the soldiers. The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces took control of a defensive area spanning more than 76 square kilometres during the fighting. "Over 7,000 buildings and structures were mopped up during the operation. The enemy suffered heavy losses of manpower of the 102nd Separate Territorial Defence Brigade as well as the 33rd, 225th and 425th separate assault regiments of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. More than 50 armoured vehicles and motor vehicles were destroyed," the ministry said in a statement. On the same day, Russia's Chief of the General Staff Valeri Gerasimov briefed President Vladimir Putin on what Moscow described as the capture of Dimitrov in the DPR, as well as Stepnogorsk and Gulyaypole in the Zaporozhye region. Responding to the report, Putin described the 'liberation' of the settlements as "important results that open up prospects" for the further advance of Russian forces. Ukraine's General Staff rejected claims of Russian military success in Gulyaypole and Mirnograd (Dimitrov) as false, while acknowledging that the situation in the affected areas remains difficult for Ukrainian troops. Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO. Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow. The date and location of the footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry cannot be independently verified. "