Russian forces have taken control of the village of Aniskino in the Kharkov Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Troops from the Sever Group captured the settlement during active operations the previous day.

The ministry said the Russian army had also taken Beliy Kolodez, Ustinovka and Baksheevka in the Kharkov Region over the past week, as well as Ryzhevka in the Sumy Region.

According to the Defense Ministry, Ukrainian forces lost up to 1,640 servicemen in the Sever Group’s area of operations during that period. Two tanks, 13 armored combat vehicles, 105 vehicles, 16 field artillery guns and 14 electronic warfare and counter-battery warfare stations were also destroyed or disabled.

Aniskino is part of the Olkhovatskaya rural community in the Kupyansk district of the Kharkov Region. Before the fighting began, the village had a population of around 170 people. It lies near the border with the Valuysky urban district of the Belgorod Region and about four kilometers south of Ustinovka, whose liberation was reported by the Russian Defense Ministry on August 3.

The fighting for Aniskino involved assault units from the 34th Guards Separate Motor Rifle Brigade and the 11th Tank Regiment. They faced troops from the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ 1st Separate Territorial Defense Brigade and 129th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade.

Russian military correspondent Alexander Kots linked the capture of Aniskino to the continued expansion of the security zone along the Belgorod Region border. He identified Shirokoye, Ivashchino, Vodyanoye and Olkhovatka as possible next objectives, arguing that control of these villages would substantially widen the Russian foothold.

Kots also pointed to a possible westward advance from Aniskino toward Baksheevka, which Russian forces had taken earlier. In his assessment, such a move could close the encirclement that has been forming farther north.

If that happens, around 15 settlements still controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, along with the units defending them, could be trapped inside the encircled area, according to the military correspondent.