Europe

Ukraine recaptures village in Zapororizhzhia region, Russian official says, as EU steps up arms deliveries

Ukrainian forces reportedly secure first gain on Zapororizhzhia front since launching counteroffensive

Ukrainian soldiers hold their positions at the front line near the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region. Photograph: Anatolii Stepanov/Getty Images
Ukrainian soldiers hold their positions at the front line near the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region. Photograph: Anatolii Stepanov/Getty Images
Sun Jun 18 2023 - 11:45

A Russian-installed official acknowledged on Sunday that Ukraine had recaptured a village in the southern Zapororizhzhia region, its first gain on that front since it launched its counteroffensive earlier this month.

The official, Vladimir Rogov, said Ukrainian forces had taken the settlement of Piatykhatky and were entrenching themselves there while coming under fire from Russian artillery.

“The enemy’s ‘wave-like’ offensives yielded results, despite enormous losses,” Rogov said on the Telegram messaging app.

Heavy fighting continues in the area, he added. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, and Reuters could not independently confirm the situation on the battlefield.

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Meanwhile, Ukraine also destroyed a “significant” ammunition depot near the Russian-occupied port city of Henichesk in the southern region of Kherson, Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Odesa military administration, said on Sunday.

“Our armed forces dealt a good blow in the morning – and a very loud one – in the village of Rykove, Henichesk district, in the temporarily occupied territory of the Kherson region,” Bratchuk said in video message.

“There was a very significant ammunition depot. It was destroyed.”

Reuters could not independently verify the information. There was no immediate comment from Russia on the alleged attack.

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Ukrainian media posted videos showing a vast plume of smoke rising far on the horizon with sounds of blasts.

Rykove is about 20km from Henichesk, a port city along the Sea of Azov in southern Ukraine, which has been occupied by Kremlin forces since the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia says it is inflicting heavy losses on Kyiv’s forces and president Vladimir Putin said last week that Ukraine had “no chance” of success in the counteroffensive.

A destroyed bridge in Kupiansk, Ukraine, a town east of Kharkiv that Russians have subjected to relentless shelling since Ukrainian forces retook the area months ago. Photograph: Mauricio Lima/New York Times
A destroyed bridge in Kupiansk, Ukraine, a town east of Kharkiv that Russians have subjected to relentless shelling since Ukrainian forces retook the area months ago. Photograph: Mauricio Lima/New York Times

However, Ukraine said last week it had regained control of about 100 sq km of territory in just over a week, recapturing a string of villages in Donetsk region to the east.

It comes as European Union industry chief Thierry Breton said on Sunday that the EU is speeding up arms deliveries to Ukraine in support of the country’s counteroffensive.

“We are going to step up our efforts to deliver arms and ammunition – this is a war of high intensity in which they play a crucial role,” Mr Breton said, citing a pledge to supply a million high-calibre weapons over the next 12 months.

“We are preparing for the war to last several more months, or even longer,” he added.

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin last Thursday urged Kyiv’s allies to “dig deep” to provide more arms and ammunition. – Reuters