Defense Ministry: Ukraine liberates Rivnopil, Donetsk Oblast

Dinara Khalilova -

Ukraine's Armed Forces have liberated the village of Rivnopil in Donetsk Oblast, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on June 26.

There are two settlements called Rivnopil in Donetsk Oblast. The liberated one sits near the administrative border with the neighboring Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

This is the ninth settlement regained since the beginning of Ukraine's long-expected counteroffensive around June 5.

Ukraine's military has also liberated Lobkove, Levadne, Piatykhatky, and Novodarivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Donetsk Oblast's villages of Neskuchne, Storozheve, Makarivka, and Blahodatne.

Earlier the same day, Maliar and the U.K. Defense Ministry reported some progress made by Ukrainian forces around Bakhmut.

According to Maliar, over the weekend, they have advanced from 1 to 2 kilometers toward Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Bakhmut, Bohdanivka, Yahidne, Klishchiivka, and Kurdiumivka.

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