Ukraine reports recapturing three villages in counteroffensive against Russia

Ukrainian forces have reportedly recaptured three villages in the southeast from Russian control, marking the first liberated settlements since launching a counteroffensive. In an unverified video published by Ukraine’s 68th Jaeger Brigade, soldiers raised the Ukrainian flag in the Donetsk region’s village of Blahodatne. Valeriy Shershen, spokesperson for Ukraine’s “Tavria” military sector, announced the initial results of the counteroffensive actions on television.

The village of Blahodatne is located on the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions, just south of the Kyiv-controlled village of Velyka Novosilka. Myroslav Semeniuk, spokesman for the brigade, informed The Associated Press that an assault team captured six Russian troops after entering buildings where approximately 60 soldiers were hiding. The next village targeted for reclamation is Urozhayne, followed by further advances southward.

In response, Russian military bloggers with close ties to the Kremlin claimed that Blahodatne was abandoned due to fears of encirclement. Ukrainian forces also regained control of Makarivka, the neighbouring village, and advanced between 300 and 1,500 metres along two directions on the southern front, according to Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar. Additionally, a Ukrainian territorial defence unit shared unverified footage on Telegram of soldiers raising their flag in Neskuchne, the village closest to Ukrainian positions in the area.

Despite these reports, the Russian defence ministry maintained that it was repelling Ukrainian attacks in the region. It stated that Ukrainian offensive operations on the southern Donetsk and Zaporizhia front lines over the past 24 hours had been unsuccessful. However, with limited information and minimal independent reporting from the front lines, verifying the battlefield situation remains challenging.

The southeastern region, currently occupied by Russian forces, is considered a priority for Kyiv’s forces, who may aim to threaten Russia’s land bridge to the annexed Crimean Peninsula and divide Russian forces. In the meantime, Russia has constructed extensive fortifications across occupied territory in preparation for a potential Ukrainian counterattack using troops trained and equipped by the West.

In other news, six people were wounded when Russian troops fired upon a boat evacuating individuals from areas to Ukrainian-held territory along a flooded front line in southern Ukraine. Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, reported that the injured were transported to a hospital in the southern city of Kherson. Additionally, the Russian military accused Ukrainian forces of unsuccessfully attacking one of its ships in the Black Sea, though the claim could not be independently verified. Both Ukraine and Russia exchanged scores of prisoners of war on Sunday, with Russia freeing 94 soldiers and Ukraine releasing 95.