Ukraine has reported the liberation of three villages in the south-east of the country, and these are the first victories in the long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive, writes the BBC.
Videos on social networks show Ukrainian soldiers rejoicing over the success of the liberated villages. On Saturday, the 10th of June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky informed that the counterattack has begun.
This is the first success since the announcement of the counterattack, however,
since the 5th of June, Ukrainian forces have been advancing in southern regions.
Meanwhile, Moscow talks about repelling the Ukrainian attacks, but has not reported any villages lost.
Valery Shershen, spokesman for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, reported that the Russian army also blew up the dam near Novodarivka, which led to the flooding of both banks of the Mokri Yali river. He suggested that Russia was deliberately blowing up the dams on the rivers to stop the Ukrainian advance. Russia denies this and also blames Ukraine for the bombing of the Kakhovka dam.
Social networks show the raising of the Ukrainian flag in front of a building in Blahodatne.
The representative of the army stated that these are the first victories of Ukraine in a counterattack. Although they mark the first major successes, the villages themselves are small, Blahodatne, for example, had about 1,000 inhabitants before the war. The village, which was captured after heavy fighting, lies on the road to Mariupol, and some experts have suggested that
Ukrainians could seek to retake the Russian-held port city in the coming months.
Others speculate that Ukraine wants to sever the land link between the Donetsk region and Crimea to cut off the occupiers’ supply routes to the peninsula.
In the east, Ukrainians have advanced in the vicinity of Bakhmut. On Monday, the 12th of June, the Ukrainian army reported 25 clashes over the weekend. Senior army officials are avoiding more direct comments on the army’s progress.