Ukraine’s armed forces posted video online showing Ukrainian soldiers installing flag on damaged building in what they said was the village of Blahodatne in the Donetsk region.
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 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 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 to take time. Russia has made much of how its troops have held their ground elsewhere.
