KYIV – Ukraine says it has liberated three villages in the south-east of the country in the first victories of its much-anticipated counter-offensive.
Footage on social media showed Ukrainian troops celebrating in the neighbouring settlements of Blahodatne and Neskuchne in the Donetsk region.
Kyiv’s deputy defence minister said nearby Makarivka was also taken.
On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that the counter-offensive had begun.
These three settlements would be the first liberated since his comments, but not the first that Ukraine has recaptured since Monday, when pockets of its forces began to advance in the country’s south.
Moscow has yet to confirm the fall of any of the villages, instead speaking of repelling Ukrainian assaults in the region.
Elsewhere, Ukraine says Russia has blown up another dam in the Zaporizhzhia region, following the destruction of the major Kakhovka dam on Monday, which caused widespread flooding and mass evacuations. On Sunday, President Zelensky said 4,000 people had now been evacuated.
Ukraine says the dam was blown up by Russian forces, who have controlled it since February 2022.
Valeriy Shershen, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military, said Moscow’s forces had chosen to blow up a second dam near the village of Novodarivka, which “led to the flooding on both banks of the Mokri Yaly river”.
Shershen said Russia was deliberately blowing up dams in the region to halt Ukraine’s advance towards occupied areas.
Russia has denied it blew up the Kakhovka dam and has blamed Ukraine instead. (BBC)
