Social media video and images indicate that Ukrainian troops have entered the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia region -- a location that has seen heavy fighting for several weeks.
Ukraine's military has not confirmed that it holds the village. One photograph purports to show a Ukrainian soldier standing in front of a road sign at the entrance to the village. The image could not immediately be geolocated.
The commander of Ukrainian forces in the south, Brig. Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, said his units have made progress.
There is a movement forward and successes," Tarnavskyi said on Telegram.
He added that artillery units from the Tavria Defense Forces have killed 49 Russian troops, injured more than 200, and destroyed 16 units of enemy military equipment over the past day
The Russian side has also spoken of heavy combat in the area.
A prominent Russian military blogger -- WarGonzo -- said that Ukrainian forces "with the powerful support of artillery managed to expand the zone of control in the vicinity of Robotyne."
WarGonzo said the expansion of Ukrainian control was across a width of 6 kilometers (3.7 miles), but in terms of depth was "insignificant."
Yevgeniy Balitskyi, the Russian appointed acting head of the Zaporizhzhia region military administration, posted on Telegram that "today at about 6 a.m. the enemy in a grouping reinforced with tanks moved in the direction of Robotyne and Novodanylivka."
"The enemy drove the convoy through minefields, as a result the tanks began to explode, one tank was destroyed by our artillery. The remaining grouping with two tanks retreated," Balitskyi claimed.
Balitskyi also spoke of heavy Ukrainian shelling, but insisted: "Our positions are strong."
Another Russian-appointed official, Vladmir Rogov, said that artillery exchanges had continued throughout Thursday night. "The enemy is actively using MLRS with cluster munitions," he said, adding that two Ukrainian armored vehicles were destroyed by helicopter missile attacks.
Rogov also spoke of a fresh Ukrainian push at dawn on Friday.
The enemy was stopped and driven back. Fighting continues in the forest belts," Rogov said.
