Ukraine announces recapture of southeastern village, first offensive win
A Ukraine announced this Sunday the 11th that its forces had recaptured three towns in the Donetsk region in the east of the country in the first moves of an offensive against the Russian army. “The village of Neskuchne in the Donetsk region is flying the Ukrainian flag again,” the state border guard said, and a video showed Ukrainian troops chanting “Glory to Ukraine!” and “Death to enemies!”. News of Neskuchne’s release comes just hours after Blahodatne’s by “soldiers of the 68th Brigade” in the same region. Ground forces also released a video showing militants holding a Ukrainian flag inside a destroyed building. Blahodatne, which had fewer than 1,000 residents before the war, lies on the border between Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions in southeastern Ukraine.
A significant advance of Kiev forces into the Zaporizhia region could mean a major setback for Moscow if the land connection between the Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, annexed in 2014, is disrupted. Ukrainian troops also retook another place a little further northwest, the town of Makiivka, Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar said. The Ukrainian government has remained silent on its strategy, refusing to confirm whether the latest military actions are part of an offensive that its army says its army has been preparing for months. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy limited himself on Saturday to speaking of “counteroffensive and defensive measures” in the country. In his daily speech this Sunday, Zelenskyy, whose country was invaded by Russia in February 2022, thanked him for the work of his troops. “I am grateful to our soldiers for this day. Thanks. “Thank you for every step, for every battle, for every invader destroyed,” he said.
According to the Washingtonbased Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Kiev forces launched offensives in at least four areas of the front line on Saturday. Russia’s defense ministry said on Sunday it had thwarted a Ukrainian attack on one of its warships in the Black Sea near two gas pipelines. The attack was against the Priasowie, and although Kiev used six unmanned vessels to reach her, Moscow claimed she suffered no damage. In southern Ukraine, evacuation work continues after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam on June 6, which led to massive flooding. Ukraine accuses Russia of detonating explosives at this dam on the Dnieper, but Moscow claims it was Kiev that attacked the structure with artillery. Ukrainian authorities have reported seven people killed in the flooding and 35 people, including seven children, are still missing in areas controlled by Kiev. In Russianheld Ukrainian territories this week, Moscowinstalled authorities reported eight dead and 13 missing.
*With information from AFP