Ukraine raises flags in villages near Dnipropetrovsk Oblast's borders, refuting Russia's claims of capture

Ukrainian soldiers raised flags in two eastern settlements lying near Donetsk Oblast's administrative border with Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine's 20th Corps said on July 17, dismissing Russian claims of capturing the territory.

"Fighters from the 31st Separate Mechanized Brigade and the 505th Separate Marine Battalion have raised their battle flags in the settlements of Voskresenka and Yalta in Donetsk Oblast," the 20th Corps said in a statement on social media.

The Russian military claimed it had captured Yalta on June 25 and Voskresenka on July 15.

"While Russian propagandists report daily on their 'advances' and 'capture of new positions,' our warriors quietly, without fanfare, enter these so-called 'captured' territories and raise Ukrainian flags over them," the Ukrainian military said.

The 20th Corps published undated footage showing Ukrainian soldiers raising flags in what it said was Yalta and Voskresenka, as well as recordings of first-person-view (FPV) drones targeting Russian soldiers.

DeepState, a Ukrainian open-source monitoring group, said Yalta was occupied by Russia as of July 16, while Voskresenka remains largely in Ukrainian hands, with part of the settlement in a contested area.

The two villages lie at the western edge of Donetsk Oblast, close to the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a central-eastern region Russian forces have been attempting to enter over the past few months.

Kyiv acknowledged small Russian units entering the Dnipropterovsk Oblast village of Dachne — 5 kilometers (3 miles) east of Yalta — on several occasions, but claimed Ukrainian defenders have been able to throw Moscow's troops back.

The news comes as Russia continues to grind forward with its summer offensive, which has been ongoing since May. Ukraine has been largely on the defensive in the east, with Russia steadily pushing forward.

There are concerns that Russian forces could scale up their offensive in Donetsk Oblast in the coming weeks, aiming to advance toward strategically important towns of Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka.

Last month, Russia also opened a new offensive in northeastern Sumy Oblast to carve out a buffer zone in the area, though its advances there have been limited, experts told the Kyiv Independent.