Kiev, June 12, (dpa/GNA) – Ukrainian forces seized the village of Storozheve in the eastern Donetsk region, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar reported on her Telegram channel on Monday, amid speculation about a counteroffensive to reclaim territory taken by Russia.
“The Ukrainian flag is flying once more over Storozheve, and this will be the case with every village until we have fully liberated Ukrainian soil,” she said.
Storozheve lies on the border between the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya regions in the same area where Ukrainian forces said on Sunday they had liberated other settlements.
Observers believe that Ukraine’s long-expected offensive to reclaim territory held by Russian forces has begun, although this has not been fully confirmed by the Ukrainian government.
A photo posted by Maliar showed troops holding up the Ukrainian national flag on an unpaved road in front of a wrecked house.
Ukrainian forces are advancing along the Mokri Yaly river in Donetsk, that flows roughly north-to-south. Storozheve lies on the western bank, as does Makarivka to the south, which was previously reported to have been taken.
The Ukrainians have accused Russia of destroying a dam in the southern region to block the advance.
The reported Ukrainian gains came on the same day the German Red Cross (DRK) said it is sending more supplies to the 16,000 people the city of Nova Kakhovka, who are urgently in need of help following flooding after a nearby dam was destroyed.
The DRK said that a transport of two lifeboats, 6,000 hygiene kits, 200 neoprene suits and 100 life jackets, valued at about €400,000 ($431,050) would depart on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the British Defence Ministry said Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu is increasingly trying to portray himself as Moscow’s top military strategist.
“Shoigu has provided at least two comments on Russia’s defensive operations including making almost certainly seriously exaggerated claimes about Ukrainian losses,” the ministry said in its daily report on the war.
Shoigu has also urged Russia’s defence industries to produce more and castigated some officers for not sending reserve armoured vehciles to the front fast enough.
Shoigu has often come under attack from the head of Russia’s private Wagner army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who on Sunday refused Shoigu’s effort to bring Wagner under the Russian defence minister’s command.
In Washington, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that Russian sources were seeking to downplay Ukrainian successes in the region.
“Russian sources are likely referring to Ukrainian territorial advances through Russian defences as capturing ‘grey zones’ in order to downplay Ukrainian gains and omit reporting on Ukrainian forces breaking through defensive lines,” it said.
It added that while Ukrainian forces had liberated several towns, claims of a Ukrainian breakthrough were premature.
GNA