Ukraine said on Monday its troops had recaptured a fourth village from Russian forces in a cluster of settlements in the southeast, a day after reporting the first small gains of its long-anticipated counteroffensive.
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar posted a photo showing soldiers hoisting the Ukrainian flag at what she said was the village of Storozheve in Donetsk, and thanked the 35th Separate Brigade of Marines for liberating it. Reuters confirmed the location of the footage.
Kyiv also said on Sunday that its forces had liberated three villages – Blahodatne, Neskuchne and Makarivka.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Monday it had repelled attempted offensives by Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions and had hit targets with sea-launched high-precision missile strikes.
Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin marked Russia’s national day on Monday by appealing to Russians’ patriotic pride at what he said was a “difficult time” for the country.
“This public holiday marks the inseparability of our centuries-old history, the greatness and glory of the fatherland,” Putin stated at an award-giving ceremony at the Kremlin, making no mention of Ukraine’s gains in the previous days.
