Russian forces capture villages in Ukraine's Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions

On 22 July 2026 the Russian Ministry of Defence announced that its army had liberated the village of Artelnoe in the Kharkiv region and the village of Blagodatnoe in the Zaporizhzhia region. The statement said a Ukrainian platoon was destroyed and the advance opened a corridor toward the junction of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk.

Two days later, on 24 July 2026, Russian troops of the Sever grouping reported taking control of the villages of Zakharovka and Ivashkino in the Kharkiv region. The ministry also listed Ukrainian losses for the week, claiming more than 1,695 personnel, a tank, 17 armored fighting vehicles, artillery pieces and multiple rocket‑launch systems had been destroyed by Russian attacks.