Ukrainian forces have liberated the village of Neskuchne in Donetsk Oblast on June 10, the 7th Motorized Infantry Battalion of Ukraine's 129th Territorial Defense Brigade reported on June 11.
Neskuchne is located a few kilometers from the town of Velyka Novosilka, west of Vuhledar.
The video posted on Facebook by the battalion shows its soldiers holding the unit flag near the partially destroyed building.
The announcement comes the same day Ukrainian troops liberated the neighboring Blahodatne village and a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces is already ongoing.
“From my point of view, counteroffensive defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine,” Zelensky said, adding that the Ukrainian military commanders are “feeling positive” about the ongoing operation.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces also reported on June 11 that the 59th Motorized Brigade reclaimed a Russian position near the front-line town of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast.
The industrial city of Avdiivka, located five kilometers north of Russian-occupied Donetsk, has been a target of Russian attacks since 2014 when Russia first invaded Ukraine.
On June 8, ABC News reported, citing unnamed Ukrainian officials, one of them supposedly close to Zelensky, that Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in southeastern Ukraine, south of the city of Zaporizhzhia.
Russia claimed that the Ukrainian counteroffensive began on June 5.
Asami Terajima
(Updated: )
