KYIV (Reuters) - On Thursday 17 August 2023, Ukrainian forces claimed success on the south-eastern front where they liberated one settlement the previous day.
Ukraine announced the recapture of the village of Urozhaine from Russian troops in the south-east on Wednesday.
Urozhaine, on the edge of Donetsk region, is the first village Kyiv says it has retaken since 27 July, a sign of the challenge Ukraine faces advancing through heavily mined Russian defensive lines without powerful air support.
"In the direction south of Urozhaine they (Ukrainian troops) had success," military spokesman Andriy Kovaliov told the national television. He gave no more details.
Kyiv says its counteroffensive is progressing slower than it wanted because of vast Russian minefields and prepared Russian defensive lines.
Russia controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine, including the peninsula of Crimea, most of Luhansk region and large tracts of the regions of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
