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KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine said on Monday it had pushed Russian forces out of an eighth village in its two-week-old counter-offensive and vowed a responsible defense. KyivThe “biggest blow” was ahead, despite the fierce resistance of the Russian troops.
Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna the painter He said Ukrainian forces had recaptured Pyatikatki, a settlement on a heavily fortified section of the front line near the direct road to the country’s Sea of ​​Azov coast.
This was part of Kiev’s advance of up to seven kilometers (4.3 mi) into the Russian lines in two weeks, capturing 113 square kilometers (44 square miles) of land.
“The enemy will not easily give up their positions, and we have to prepare ourselves for a tough duel,” Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app. The army “is moving as it should have moved. The biggest blow is yet to come.”
It said the heaviest fighting took place in eastern and southern Ukraine. Separately, it said the Ukrainian military had blocked a Russian advance in the east as it had concentrated its units, including air assault forces.
president Volodymyr Zelensky In his nightly video address, he said that the Kiev army was moving forward in some sectors and defending against massive attacks in others. But he said the net result was favorable to Ukraine.
“We don’t have losing positions, only liberated positions. And they only have losses,” he said.
Two flashy videos posted to Telegram by the Armed Forces of Ukraine showed what it said were attacks and advances by its forces in recapturing the village of Pyatikatki, including several strikes on Russian positions and a convoy. The video shows thick smoke rising from the area. Columns of Ukrainian armored vehicles are seen advancing on a country road.
The video concluded with soldiers from the 128th separate assault battalion standing in front of a building with columns flying Ukrainian flags and saying they had liberated the village.
Reuters was able to confirm the location of the video but could not independently verify the date.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote on Facebook that anti-aircraft units shot down four cruise missiles and four Iranian-made drones in the past 24 hours.
She said that Russia bombed more than a dozen towns and villages in Iraq Zaporizhia region, including Pyatikatki.
Reuters could not verify the battlefield claims.
additional gains
The reported capture of villages reflects the incremental nature of gains so far for Ukraine similar to what Moscow has spent months consolidating.
However, Piatykhatky is important, as it is located about 90 km from the coast.
Zelensky said he would continue talks with Western allies to supply them with weapons and ammunition as soon as possible.
Russia, hoping to sway the West’s resolve, said it had repulsed several attacks and released a video showing what its forces say is captured Western equipment, in this case a captured French-made tank reportedly in the eastern Donetsk region. He did not mention Pyatikatki.
Ukraine has acknowledged attacks on several parts of the 1,000-kilometre front line in its long-awaited counter-offensive to retake 18% of its territory occupied by Russia, but it carefully controls information for security reasons. Analysts say the main phase of the counterattack has yet to begin.
Both sides appear to have taken heavy losses in the recent fighting and both say the other side is greater.
Ukraine prepared a group of fresh military units for the counterattack, while its established battalions withstood the Russian winter offensive in the east.
Separately, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Strategic Industries Sergei Boyev told Reuters at the Paris Air Show on Monday that Ukraine is in talks with Western arms manufacturers to boost weapons production, including drones, possibly even in Ukraine.
The conflict has claimed thousands of civilian lives, destroyed towns and cities, and forced millions of people from their homes, while exacerbating global inflation and reshaping security arrangements.
Russia says it invaded Ukraine to “discredit” it, an argument Ukraine and its Western allies describe as a land grab.
redistribution?
Officials from two NATO allies said Moscow was redeploying some of its forces as it seeks to predict where it will strike Ukraine.
British and Estonian intelligence officials said Russia was moving some forces east along the front line from areas south of the Dnipro River that were inundated by the destruction of the massive Kakhovka hydroelectric dam on June 6.
Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for launching the massive tank. Floods destroyed homes and farmland on both sides of the front line in the Kherson region. The death toll rose to 52, with more than 11,000 people evacuated.



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