Ukraine says its forces have recaptured a fourth village from Russian troops in a cluster of settlements in the south-east.
Kyiv’s announcement came on Monday, a day after reporting the first small gains of its long-anticipated counter-offensive.
Analysts have underscored the daunting task of ending Moscow’s occupation of southern and eastern Ukraine, given Russia’s numerical superiority in men, ammunition and air power, as well as the many months it has had to build defensive fortifications.
Kyiv said on Sunday its forces had liberated three villages – Blahodatne, Neskuchne and Makarivka – and on Monday, soldiers were seen in video holding up the Ukrainian flag in nearby Storozheve, which was confirmed by Reuters.
The defence minister thanked the 35th Separate Brigade of Marines for regaining control of the village.
Ukraine’s capture of the four villages in a matter of days is already its most rapid advance for seven months, though still short of a major breakthrough of Russia’s deep defensive lines.
The claimed advance adds up to just five km in total, still some 90 km from the Azov Sea coast and the interim prize of cutting Russia’s “land bridge” to Crimea, the peninsula Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014.
According to a recent Reuters report, the Ukrainians are banking on the tens of billions of dollars’ worth of weaponry, training and intelligence they have received from the West, combined with their own battlefield resolve, tactical nous and the motivation of driving an invader from their own land, to give them the edge.
The government in Kyiv, the report says, also knows it may have to show significant progress over the summer to maintain the same level of Western military, financial and moral support.
On Monday, Ukraine’s armed forces general staff said its troops had engaged in two dozen heavy battles in the previous 24 hours on the eastern front, near the town of Bakhmut, further south near Avdiivka and Maryinka, and further north near Bilohorivka. It does not provide similar detail about fighting on the southern front where the main counter-offensive is expected.
Moscow has yet to officially acknowledge any Ukrainian advances, saying last week that it had repelled numerous attacks and inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy.
