Ukrainian Troops Drive Russians Out of Strategic Village: Defense Lines Penetrated, Equipment and Ammunition Abandoned

New Ukrainian military illustration Wikimedia Commons Ministry of Defense of Ukraine 4

JAKARTA - Ukraine announced on Monday its troops had managed to retake Piatykhatky, a village on the road to one of the most heavily defended areas in the Russian-occupied south, adding they had recaptured 113 square km (44 square miles) in the last two weeks.

Ukrainian soldiers waved the yellow and blue national flag in a video circulating on social media, in which they said they were inside Piatykhatky, the eighth southeastern village that Kyiv had liberated.

"Today, June 18, troops of the 128th assault brigade drove the Russians out of the village of Piatykhatky. The Russians fled leaving behind equipment and ammunition. Glory to Ukraine!" said an unnamed soldier, citing Reuters, June 19.

Reuters could not immediately verify where the video was taken.

Meanwhile, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian forces had not only recaptured Piatykhatky, but had advanced up to seven kilometers (4.3 miles) into Russian lines within two weeks.

"During two weeks of offensive operations in the Berdiansk and Melitopol directions, eight settlements were liberated," Maliar wrote on the Telegram application.

As before, statements from the battlefield could not be independently verified.

Earlier, an official stationed by Moscow in the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region said on Sunday Kyiv troops had recaptured Piatykhatky, but they were pushed back and the settlement was now in a "gray" area of ​​control.

The official, Vladimir Rogov, said Ukrainian troops had captured the settlements and repositioned them under the Russian artillery fire.

"The enemy's 'wave-like' attacks yielded results, despite heavy losses," Rogov said on the messaging app Telegram.

Russia says it has inflicted heavy losses on Kyiv troops, while President Vladimir Putin last week said Ukraine had "no chance" of succeeding in a counteroffensive.

Meanwhile, Ukraine last week claimed it had regained control of an area of ​​about 100 square km (38 square miles) in just one week, retaking several villages in the Donetsk region to the east.