Moscow, 18 June 2023 (dpa/MIA) — Russia says Ukrainian forces have captured the village of Piatykhatky in the Zaporizhzhya region on Sunday while taking heavy losses, in a rare admission from the Russian side that it has lost ground in Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian forces have managed to take it [the village] under their control," the representative of the administration loyal to Moscow, Vladimir Rogov, wrote on his Telegram channel on Sunday.

Rogov said Ukrainian forces had been able to take the village despite suffering "colossal losses" during waves of attacks, claiming that hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers had been killed. There was no confirmation from the Ukrainian side.

The area is now being shelled with artillery from the Russian side with the aim of encircling Ukrainian troops, Rogov said, noting that heavy and severe fighting was ongoing.

Russia has annexed the Zaporizhzhya region, although the regional capital of the same name and other parts are under Ukrainian control.

Rogov also claimed that on the front in Zaporizhzhya, Ukrainian commanders and soldiers had voluntarily become Russian prisoners of war. He released a video showing men with shaved heads in uniform.

They introduced themselves by name and insulted the Ukrainian military leadership in unison, as if in a rehearsed text. The authenticity of the recording could not be verified.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces reported fighting in several directions at the front. Images showing large explosions and a fire were circulating on social networks, purportedly showing Ukraine's air force hitting a large Russian ammunition depot near the town of Henichesk in the occupied part of Kherson Oblast or region.

Both Ukraine and Russia are "suffering high casualties" as fierce fighting rages at the front, the British Defence Ministry said in its latest daily intelligence report.

Russian troops were said to have seen their heaviest losses since the battle for the town of Bakhmut in March. The ministry did not give an estimate of the number of dead and injured.

The report on Sunday stated that the most intense fighting is taking place in Zaporizhzhya, western Donetsk and near Bakhmut.

"In all these areas, Ukraine continues to pursue offensive operations and has made small advances," it wrote. In the south, on the other hand, Russia often succeeds in "relatively effective defensive operations."

The British Ministry of Defence has been publishing daily reports on the war in Ukraine since it began almost 16 months ago. Moscow accuses London of waging a disinformation campaign.