KYIV ANNOUNCED TODAY that Ukrainian forces have retaken a village in the war-torn country’s southeast, the first reported gain of the counteroffensive.

After months of building expectations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that a counteroffensive against Russian forces was underway but refused to provide any details.

Ukraine’s ground forces said in a statement today that soldiers of the 68th separate ranger brigade had “liberated the settlement of Blagodatne” in the eastern region of Donetsk.

The ground forces released a video showing soldiers hoisting a Ukrainian flag over a destroyed building.

Brigade spokesman Myroslav Semeniuk said an assault team captured six Russian troops after entering several buildings where 60 soldiers were holed up.

“The enemy keeps shelling us but this won’t stop us,” he said.

“The next village we plan to reclaim is Urozhayne. After that, (we’ll proceed) further south.”

Another military spokesman, Valeriy Shershen, said in televised remarks that the retaken village was located on the border of the eastern region of Donetsk and the southern region of Zaporizhzhia where Moscow has reported heavy Ukrainian assaults over the past week.

⚡️Ukrainian military reports liberating Blahodatne village in Donetsk Oblast.

Ukraine's Armed Forces' 68th separate brigade reported liberating Blahodatne and posted a video showing the Ukrainian flag being raised in the village. pic.twitter.com/hhp3yxNDI5

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) June 11, 2023

Big Ukrainian military successes in the Zaporizhzhia region could potentially enable its forces to break through the land bridge that connects Russia with the Crimean peninsula it annexed from Ukraine. This would be a major reversal for Moscow.

Ukraine has largely been silent on the offensive, but Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said Kyiv’s fightback had already begun but was already failing.

Washington-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War said Saturday that Kyiv’s forces conducted counteroffensive operations in at least four front-line areas.

While the recapture of Blahodatne points to a small Ukrainian advance, western and Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly said efforts to expel Russian troops more broadly are expected to take time.

Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official in the Zaporizhzhia region, said Blahodatne, along with two other villages in Zaporizhzhia, are in a “grey area” in terms of who controls them.

Russia has made much of how its troops have held their ground elsewhere.

The Russian Defence Ministry on Sunday continued to insist it is repelling Ukrainian attacks in the area.

With reporting from PA

 – © AFP 2023