Ukraine reclaims first territory held by Russia since 2014 following Wagner coup

Ukrainian paratroopers liberating areas in eastern parts

Ukraine has recaptured territory held by Russia for more than eight years as their counter offensive operations continue to make incremental progress, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has reported.

Ukrainian Airborne forces are believed to have made “small advances east from the village of Krasnohorivka”, roughly a 45-minute drive from the region’s administrative hub, Donetsk city.

The area has been under occupation since the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), a pro-Russian paramilitary organisation, seized the area during the early stages of the Donbas war, which began in 2014 after the pro-Western Euromaidan uprising in Kyiv.

In an update posted on Tuesday morning (June 27), the British MoD wrote: “Ukrainian Airborne forces have made small advances east from the village of Krasnohorivka, near Donetsk city, which sits on the old Line of Control.

“This is one of the first instances since Russia’s February 2022 invasion that Ukrainian forces have highly likely recaptured an area of territory occupied by Russia since 2014.

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“Recent multiple concurrent Ukrainian assaults throughout the Donbas have likely overstretched Donetsk People’s Republic and Chechen forces operating in this area.”

Footage from last weekend showed members of the 79th Air Assault Brigade, under the command of Colonel Oleksiy Shandr, marching on positions near Krasnohorivka, but the video was at that point unverified.

On June 24, as Wagner Group mercenaries were marching on Moscow, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Commander of the Ukrainian Tavria Operational and Strategic Group of Forces, claimed that the liberation around Krasnohorivka was underway.

He said: “In the Tavria sector, the Defense Forces have liberated the territories near Krasnohorivka in Donetsk region, which have been occupied since 2014. The movement of our forces continues.”

Following a meeting with his generals on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had “advanced in all directions”.

He said: “This is a happy day. I wished the guys [had] more days like this.”

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His comments come after Ukrainian troops reportedly established a foothold near the Antonovsky Bridge on the left bank of the Dnipro and retook the village of Rivnopil, about 43 miles south of Krasnohorivka.

Mr Zelensky also visited two areas along the frontline in eastern and southern Ukraine on Monday.

The Ukrainian President handed out awards and posed with troops in video footage posted online, including a top unit heavily involved in holding off a Russian advance in the city of Bakhmut.

“Thank you for protecting our country, sovereignty, our families, children, Ukraine,” he said.

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