Ukraine says it recaptured a village; Russia insists it is repelling attacks

Kyiv: Ukraine’s military on Sunday reported recapturing a village in the southeast of the country amid Russian claims of repelling multiple attacks in the area, the latest indication that a highly anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive might be underway even as officials in Kyiv stop short of publicly acknowledging it.

The 68th Separate Hunting Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces posted a video on Facebook showing soldiers installing a Ukrainian flag on a damaged building in what the post said was the village of Blahodatne in the partially occupied eastern Donetsk region.

In a separate social media post, Ukraine’s Ground Forces confirmed that the brigade had retaken Blahodatne.

Myroslav Semeniuk, spokesman for the brigade, told The Associated Press that an assault team captured six Russian troops after entering several buildings where some 60 soldiers were holed up.

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

While the recapture of Blahodatne pointed to a small Ukrainian advance, Western and Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly cautioned that efforts to expel

Russian troops more broadly are expected take time. Russia has made much of how its troops have held their ground elsewhere.

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

It said in a statement that Ukrainian attempts at offensive operations on the southern Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia axes of the frontline over the past 24 hours have been “unsuccessful.”

Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official

in the Zaporizhzhia region, insisted that Blahodatne, along with two other villages in Zaporizhzhia, are in a “gray area” in terms of who controls them.