Ukrainian forces have recaptured the southwestern Donetsk region town of Urozhayne, a key objective in Ukraine's bid to cut the so-called land bridge between the Russian-occupied parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the occupied Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula, a top official said on August 16.
"Urozhayne liberated," Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar wrote in a post on Telegram. "Our defenders are entrenched on the outskirts. Offensive actions continue."
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The report could not be independently verified.
Russia did not immediately comment. A spokesman for the Russian-installed administration of the occupied part of the Donetsk region, Yan Gagin, told the TASS state news agency that Urozhayne "has become a pocket of destruction for Ukraine's military."
"The ravaged settlement is littered with bodies," Gagin said, adding that heavy fighting continues in the area and "the situation remains tense."
Urozhayne and the neighboring town of Staromayorske have been the scene of fierce fighting in recent days as Ukrainian forces press their counteroffensive. The towns are an important link between the Russian-controlled areas of the Donetsk region and the Russian-occupied parts of southern Ukraine, including the Azov Sea ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk.
Colonel Serhiy Cherevatiy, spokesman for the Ukraine's Defense Forces of the Eastern Region, said Ukrainian troops built a "powerful defense," in the area around Lyman and Kupyansk, and the enemy has been forced to regroup due to Ukrainian strikes and counterattacks.
"There is no doubt that a powerful defense has been built there," Cherevatiy told RFE/RL, adding that the fact that the enemy's assaults are on the decline indicates that "they are forced to regroup under our blows."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reported later on August 16 on a meeting of the staff of the Supreme Commander in Chief saying that frontline issues were discussed along with strategically important defense issues.
He also noted that in each combat brigade, soldiers are among the first to ask about drones, electronic warfare equipment, and military air defense.
"The answer to such questions is also our work with partners to supply the necessary drones and systems," Zelenskiy said, adding that Ukraine is increasing its own production of such equipment.
The Russian-installed leader of Ukraine's Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, was quoted by TASS as saying that Ukraine used a strike drone in Donetsk, where he said it has fired 169 rounds of ammunition, including cluster munitions.
Pushilin said on Telegram that three residential buildings and two power facilities in Donetsk and Yasynuvata had been damaged, but the report did not specify when the damage occurred.
The Russian-installed mayor of Donetsk said earlier that one person was killed in shelling of the city’s Kirovsky district. Aleksei Kulemzin said one man was injured by a landmine in Donetsk and another civilian was wounded when Ukrainian troops shelled Yasynuvata.
The claims could not be independently verified.