Ukraine says it recaptured a village in the eastern Donetsk region, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has conceded that hostilities have “intensified” in recent days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted video footage on social media on July 27 that purportedly shows Ukrainian soldiers celebrating the village’s capture.
“The 35th Brigade and the Ariy territorial defense unit have fulfilled their task and liberated the village of Staromaiorske,” an unidentified soldier says in the footage.
“Our defenders are now continuing to clear the settlement,” Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, said on Telegram.
Ms. Maliar also claimed that Ukrainian forces were slowly advancing near the town of Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces—after nine months of fighting—in May.
Also located in the Donetsk region, Bakhmut (Artyomovsk in Russian) sits roughly 100 miles northeast of Staromaiorske.
Last month, Kyiv recaptured a string of villages outside Bakhmut.
Russian officials, for their part, have since confirmed limited Ukrainian gains. But they also say Ukraine is taking massive losses in men and equipment and that its territorial gains are grossly exaggerated.
Kyiv’s counteroffensive seeks to retake territory captured earlier by Russia. Ukrainian forces hope to advance southward to the Sea of Azov, thereby severing Russia’s land bridge to Crimea.
Fighting Still Underway
Russian officials, however, dispute Kyiv’s recent claim to have retaken Staromaiorske, which first fell to Russian forces in the spring of last year.On July 28, Yevgeny Balitsky, the Moscow-appointed governor of Zaporizhzhia, said Ukrainian forces were suffering “heavy losses” while attempting to hold the northwestern part of Starmaiorske.
On the same day, Vladimir Rogov, a Moscow-appointed official in Zaporizhzhia, said the village remained the scene of “fierce, high-intensity fighting,” according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
Mr. Rogov went on to claim that Ukraine had lost more than 3,000 personnel in repeated attempts to capture the village since the counter-offensive began almost two months ago.
In its daily briefing for July 28, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the latest Ukrainian assault near Staromaiorske had been repelled amid heavy fighting.
According to the ministry, total Ukrainian losses from the engagement stood at 110 personnel and a number of armored vehicles.
The ministry went on to assert that, within the past 24 hours, Russian forces had captured several positions in the neighboring Luhansk region, advancing almost a mile into enemy territory.
‘Not a Stalemate’
The Epoch Times couldn’t independently verify battlefield assessments by either side.But Mr. Putin himself has appeared to confirm that fighting along the front line had recently “intensified significantly.”
Speaking to reporters on July 27, he said fighting was heaviest in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, which neighbors Donetsk to the west.
He repeated earlier assertions, however, that Kyiv’s ongoing counteroffensive had so far failed to achieve any major breakthroughs.
“All counter-offensive moves have been halted, and the enemy has been pushed back after sustaining high casualties,” Mr. Putin said.
At a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart last week, he stated flatly that Kyiv’s counteroffensive had “failed.”
That assertion, however, conflicts with statements by several Western officials, including U.S. Army Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
On July 18, Mr. Milley described the counteroffensive as “far from a failure.”
While it may be progressing more slowly than initially hoped, the general added, “It’s way too early to make that kind of call.”
On July 26, White House national security spokesman John Kirby conceded that Ukrainian forces were “not moving as far every day as they would like.”
“The United States is not going to take a position on that,” he told reporters.
“That said, they are moving,” Mr. Kirby added. “It isn’t a stalemate.”
Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine early last year. Last September, it effectively annexed Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, along with the Kherson and Luhansk regions.
Kyiv and its Western allies decry the invasion and subsequent annexations as unprovoked acts of aggression.
Moscow, for its part, says its “special military operation” aims to protect Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine and halt the further expansion of NATO, which Ukraine is seeking to join.
