Ukraine claims recapture of 4th village in eastern Donetsk

Ukrainian military officials on Monday said their troops have reclaimed another southeastern village from Russian forces just days after ramping up their efforts to counterstrike.

Ukraine’s flag was once again flying over the village of Storozhov, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said in a Telegram post.

The news comes after officials announced they had taken back three other villages in the eastern Donetsk region: Blahodatne, Makarivka and Neskuchne.

In the northeast, Ukrainian troops said they repelled Russian fighters from the village of Blahodatne.

Ukraine’s 68th Separate Hunting Brigade shared a video on Facebook showing soldiers claiming their victory by installing a Ukrainian flag on a damaged building in the village.

An assault team captured six Russian troops after entering several buildings where some 60 soldiers were stationed, according to Myroslav Semeniuk, a spokesperson for the brigade.

“The enemy keeps shelling us but this won’t stop us,” Semeniuk told the Associated Press. “The next village we plan to reclaim is Urozhayne. After that, (we’ll proceed) further south.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that the country’s anticipated counteroffensive and defensive actions were underway, but did not specify whether it was an all-out counteroffensive.

“From my point of view, counteroffensive defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine,” Zelensky said, adding that military commanders are “feeling positive” about ongoing efforts.

His comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted on June 5 that the counteroffensive had already been launched but that Ukrainian troops were suffering “significant losses.”

On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry repeated claims it was fighting off Ukrainian forces in the region. In a statement, it said that Ukraine’s attempts at offensive operations in the southern Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions over the last 24 hours were “unsuccessful.”

Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official in the Zaporizhzhia region, claimed that it was unclear who currently controls the village of Blahodatne, as well as two other villages.

Rogov confirmed in a Telegram post that Russian fighters were forced to leave the village of Neskuchne.

With Post wires