Ukraine claims first victories in counter-offensive, liberating Russian-held villages
Ukraine has claimed its first victories in the much-anticipated counter-offensive after liberating Russian-held villages, Kyiv officials have said.
Heavy battles have been raging on frontlines with fierce fighting near the eastern town of Bakhmut, and further south near Avdiivka and Maryinka.
Ukrainian Defence Forces posted footage on social media showing troops raising the country’s flag in the village of Neskuchne, Donetsk Oblast, after it had been liberated.
“We’re seeing the first results of the counter-offensive actions, localized results,” Valeryi Shershen, spokesperson for Ukraine’s “Tavria” military sector, said on television.
Kyiv’s troops were also seen celebrating in Blahodatne in the Donetsk region as they hoisted the flag in a bombed-out buildingand Storozhove, which was occupied by Russian troops in March 2022.
A video from Blahodatne showed Ukrainian troops from the 68th Separate Hunting Brigade 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.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar later said Ukrainian forces had “deoccupied” 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,” she said on Telegram.
Ukrainian forces were continuing to attack in the east near the devastated city of Bakhmut and had advanced 250 metres near the adjacent Berkhivka Reservoir, she reported.
The villages that the Ukrainians have reportedly liberated are small, with combined populations of less than 2,000, but mark the largest advances since the counter-offensive was launched.
Both sides have said their forces had inflicted heavy personnel and equipment losses on their enemy over the past week, as Ukraine’s counteroffensive started,
Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said separately that a motorised infantry brigade had advanced on the front line around the eastern city Avdiivka in recent days and captured a Russian position, but it provided no further details.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Ukraine had failed to breach Russian defences, while his defence ministry said it had destroyed several Leopard battle tanks and other equipment that Ukraine had received from the West.
Ukraine’s general staff said on Friday: “Over the last week in the Bakhmut direction, the Russian invaders suffered significant losses.”
On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky gave his strongest signal yet that Ukaine has launched its 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.
It comes after the Kakhovka dam was breached last week, sending devastating floods across the Kherson region.
The Ukrainians have accused Russian forces of blowing up the dam to halt advances from the counter-offensive in the south.
The occupied southeast is seen as a key target priority for Kyiv’s forces hoping to sever Russia’s land bridge to the annexed peninsula of Crimea and split Russian forces in half.
Russia has built vast fortifications across occupied territory to prepare for a Ukrainian counterattack, which is spearheaded by thousands of troops trained and equipped by the West.
With additional reporting from agencies
