'Liberating our land, step by step' — Ukraine reports successful counterattack in Dnipropterovsk Oblast, shows footage
Ukraine's 141st Mechanized Brigade carried out a successful assault in Sichneve in eastern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, liberating territory and inflicting losses on Russian forces, the military reported on Oct. 7.
The Shkval ("squall") assault unit "eliminated" 50 Russian troops in the battle, while eight others were taken prisoner, the brigade said on its Telegram channel.
The unit published footage of the engagement, showing Ukrainian troops advancing to the settlement, clearing out Russian positions with grenades and rifle fire, taking Russian captives, and displaying Ukrainian banners.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the footage and the claims.
Sichneve lies at Dnipropetrovsk Oblast's administrative border with Donetsk Oblast, which is the focal point of Russian offensive operations in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian monitoring group DeepState indicates that Sichneve, also known in Russian as Yanvarske, is mostly located within the contested "gray zone," with surrounding areas held by Russian forces.
"Liberating our land, step by step," the brigade said on Telegram.
"We are not only holding the defense but confidently moving forward, liberating our territories," the statement continued.
Russia has broken into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a previously unoccupied region of Ukraine, as part of its summer offensive. In late August, battlefield monitors reported that Russian forces had seized villages in the region for the first time.
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi described the situation near the border of Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts as tense during a meeting with journalists on Sept. 25, attended by the Kyiv Independent.
Syrskyi nevertheless claimed that Ukrainian forces had stopped a Russian attempt to advance.
In turn, DeepState has reported that Russia managed to seize a number of settlements near Dnipropetrovsk Oblast's eastern administrative borders while steadily advancing forward in multiple directions.
In the wake of Russia's summer offensive, Ukraine reportedly launched its own "counteroffensive operation" in the east. At least seven settlements were retaken during these attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in September.
Oleg Sukhov
