Russia and Ukraine bicker over tiny front-line village
Al Jazeera
The dispute illustrates how bogged down the front line has become in the conflict.
Russia has claimed its forces have taken control of the village of Tabaivka in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, but Kyiv has denied the claim.
Moscow claimed it had taken the tiny village on Monday in a defence ministry statement. However, Ukrainian officials quickly asserted on national TV that Kyiv remains in control. The disagreement illustrates the state of the bogged-down and muddled front line in conflict, which has now been ongoing for nearly two years.
The Russian army said it has “liberated” Tabaivka, but Volodymyr Fityo, head of communications for Ukraine’s ground forces, said: “This does not correspond to reality. There are battles taking place near this locality.”
Fityo added that Moscow nevertheless was “trying to advance in all directions”.
The village of Tabaivka lies near the border with the Luhansk region and had a population of 34 people before Moscow’s invasion.
