WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Russia claims control of Urozhaine village in Ukraine's Donetsk region
Russia's Defence Ministry said on Sunday that its forces had taken control of the village of Urozhaine in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, which if confirmed would be the latest in a series of gains since capturing the strategic town of Avdiivka in February.
Ukrainian bloggers said that Kyiv's forces had relinquished control of the village, southwest of the Russian-held city of Donetsk. Ukraine's military said fighting was still going on in the area.
"As a result of successful actions, the 'east' group of forces has taken control of the locality of Urozhaine in Donetsk region...and are carrying out mopping-up and demining operations," the Russian Defence Ministry said on Telegram.
Reuters was not able to independently confirm the Ukrainian or Russian reports.
The village came under Russian control early in the February 2022 invasion, but Ukraine retook the settlement near the Mokri Yaly river in July 2023.
The operation was part of Ukraine's counter-offensive in southern and eastern areas along the 1,000-km (600-mile) front line that made only limited headway.
The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces, in a Sunday morning report, said only that Russia had launched 18 attacks on Urozhaine and other nearby localities. It made no mention of the village in a late afternoon report.
DeepState, a popular Ukrainian military blog, reported Urozhaine's capture on Sunday, saying Russian forces had launched "mass assaults on the south of the village".
It described the loss as a "defence collapse" whose cause would have to be investigated.
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Russian forces strike Ukrainian explosives plant
The Russian Defense Ministry has said its forces have destroyed an explosives factory in Ukraine. It also reported that Russian troops took out multiple pieces of hardware and artillery guns, including those provided by Western nations, and killed hundreds of Ukrainian service members in a single day.
In a statement on Saturday, the ministry said the explosives facility, as well as a radar, were among the targets hit by Russian Air Force jets, UAVs, missiles and artillery.
In addition, the Russian military is said to have advanced to more favorable positions in several villages in Donetsk Region within the past 24 hours. In those locations, the Ukrainian army lost at least three US-made М113 armored personnel carriers, several US-made М198 howitzers, and one Polish-made self-propelled artillery gun, among the other hardware, the ministry claimed.
Elsewhere along the frontline, Kiev’s forces supposedly lost two US-made M777 howitzers in Zaporozhye and Kharkov regions, along with several radio-electronic warfare systems.
The Russian strikes are said to have killed more than 1,700 Ukrainian troops across the country.
On Monday, the Russian military said it had launched a massive missile and kamikaze drone attack on Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, allegedly striking the Artyom military plant in Kiev, the Yuzhmash plant in Dnepr, and an unnamed factory in Krivoy Rog.
Earlier this month, the Defense Ministry reported that between June 29 and July 5, Moscow’s “high-precision” strikes had hit several Ukrainian air bases, including the Mirgorod military airfield in Poltava Region. According to the Russian military, the attack destroyed five of Kiev’s Su-27 fighter jets, with two more sustaining damage. Ukraine confirmed the strike, insisting, however, that the number of destroyed aircraft was lower.
Russian missiles and kamikaze UAVs are also said to have destroyed a number of energy infrastructure facilities, fuel and missile depots, and drone assembly workshops across Ukraine in late June and early July.
Reuters/RT
