Ukraine’s counter-offensive has suddenly stepped up its intensity as Kyiv appears to have seized a village on the frontline. Piatykhatky was reportedly abandoned by retreating Russian troops following an intense wave of Ukraine attacks this week. The liberation of Piatykhatky would mark Ukraine’s first village gain for nearly a week, as well as an escalation of the offensive on the most direct route to Crimea.
The re-capture of Piatykhatky would see Ukraine’s first significant gain on the southern front since it launched its counter-offensive earlier this month.
While Ukraine has not confirmed the re-capture, a Russian-installed official said on Sunday that the village in the southern Zapororizhzhia region had fallen.
Vladimir Rogov, the Russian-appointed leader of the occupied Zaporizhzhya region, posted on Telegram: “The enemy’s ‘wave-like’ offensives yielded results, despite enormous losses.”
He said that fighting was still ongoing but that Ukrainian troops had entrenched themselves there while coming under fire from Russian artillery.
JUST IN: Huge explosions rip through Russian-occupied town in Ukraine blitz
This was later backed up by pro-war Russian military blogger War Gonzo, who claimed Russian troops “have abandoned” the village on the frontline.
War Gonzo said that the Russian military was now afraid that this loss gives the Ukrainian Armed Forces an opportunity to advance towards Vasylivka, which sits on a direct path to Crimea.
He suggests that Ukraine had concentrated large reserves in the area, mostly infantry but also “heavy-armoured vehicles” and predicted a major Ukrainian attack in the area in the coming days.
This comes as Ukraine’s armed forces suggested that an estimated 650 Russian soldiers were killed in fights on Saturday alone.
Kyiv’s estimated death toll for Russian troops since Moscow’s invasion last year now sits at 219,820.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces added that 7 Russian tanks and 23 armoured vehicles were destroyed yesterday.
Meanwhile, new satellite footage appears to show that Russia had dug deep trenches within the Crimean peninsula ahead of an anticipated assault on the annexed territory.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine had “no chance” of success in the counter-offensive.
Earlier this morning, Russia was dealt a devastating blow when a Ukrainian ambush strike wiped out an entire ammunition depot.
The strike destroyed a “very significant” ammunition depot in Rykove, near the Russian-occupied port city of Henichesk in the southern region of Kherson.
Meanwhile, the UK Ministry of Defence says heavy fighting is continuing to be focused in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, western Donetsk Oblast, and around Bakhmut.
In its daily intelligence briefing, the MoD stated that both sides are suffering high casualties, with Russian losses likely the highest since the peak of the battle for Bakhmut in March.
