Ukraine says its troops have made territorial advances on three villages in its southeast, the first liberated settlements it has reported since launching a counter-offensive this past week.
Kyiv’s forces posted unverified videos showing soldiers hoisting the Ukrainian flag at a bombed-out building in the village of Blahodatne in Donetsk region and posing with their unit’s flag in the adjacent village of Neskuchne.
“We’re seeing the first results of the counter-offensive actions, localised results,” Valeryi Shershen, spokesperson for Ukraine’s “Tavria” military sector, said on television.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar later said Ukrainian forces had “de-occupied” Makarivka, the next village to the south, and advanced between 300 and 1,500 metres in two directions on the southern front.
“No positions were lost on the directions where our forces are on the defensive,” Maliar added on Telegram.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that a Ukrainian military push was under way, but it had failed to breach Russian defensive lines and taken heavy casualties.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, praised his troops in his nightly video address, but made no reference to the specific areas where the fighting was reported.
“Of course, I am thankful to our soldiers for this day,” Zelenskiy said, referring only to the two main sectors of the fighting in the east and the south.
“Each one of our combat brigades, each of our units.”
President Zelensky on Saturday had given his strongest signal yet that Kyiv has launched its long-awaited counterattack to seize back land in the east and south, confirming that “counteroffensive and defensive operations” were taking place.
Kyiv officials have imposed a strict period of operational silence and urged Ukrainians not to disclose any information that could compromise the operation.
With so little information out of Kyiv and scant independent reporting from the front lines, it has been almost impossible to assess the battlefield situation.
The video from Blahodatne showed Ukrainian troops inside a heavily damaged building as artillery rumbled in the distance.
“We’re kicking the enemy out from our native lands. It’s the warmest feeling there is. Ukraine is going to win, Ukraine above everything,” an unidentified soldier said in the video on Facebook.
Russia said at least twice this week that it had repelled attacks close by the nearby settlement of Velyka Novosilka.
The Ukrainian advances follow the breach last week of the Kakhovka dam further west in Kherson region that unleashed floods and prompted rescues of residents from submerged areas.
Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the breach.
– AAP
