Ukrainian forces say they have recaptured territory in the eastern region of Kharkiv, where Russia launched a large offensive in the spring that brought initial gains before stalling.
Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a statement late on Thursday that its forces had advanced nearly two square kilometres (about three-quarters of a square mile) in the area.
It is unclear when the attack was launched, its scale and the area of the offensive, and it is hard to predict if it will have further impact on the battlefield.
The reported counter-offensive comes as Kyiv’s forces have gained new momentum and altered the battlefield this month.
Ukraine launched a shock offensive in Russia’s western Kursk region on August 6, while simultaneously intensifying a drone war against military and fuel targets that sparked blazes deep in Russia this week.
On Friday some new details emerged about damage and injuries caused by some of those attacks.
A Ukrainian drone attack targeting a distant Russian air base in the Volgograd region caused significant damage to an airfield that reportedly housed glide bombs used by Moscow in the war, satellite photos analysed by the Associated Press showed.
An attack on a cargo ferry at the port of Kavkaz in Russia’s Krasnodar region on Thursday injured 13 people, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported on Friday.
Citing health officials, Tass said four of the injured have been admitted to hospital and one other person remains unaccounted for.
Ukraine’s gains have buoyed the morale of Ukrainians 10 years after Russia first invaded their country, and two and a half years after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion which has led to mass death and destruction and created Europe’s largest refugee crisis since the Second World War.
Ukraine and its western allies hope the regained momentum could strengthen Kyiv’s hand on the diplomatic front, but the incursion into Russia itself is risky. It has highlighted Russian vulnerabilities but also further stretched Ukrainian forces, who were already fighting on a front line running for hundreds of miles.
It has also possibly compromised Ukraine’s ability to hold back Russian forces who have slowly but steadily gained ground in the Donetsk region, diverting Ukrainian forces who otherwise could bolster defences there.
Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a statement published late on Thursday that its soldiers also took control of an area held by a Russian battalion, and some strongholds.
Brigade Commander Andrii Biletskyi said they attacked Russian troops that had superiority “and won”, adding that the ratio of forces on the battlefield had been two and half to one in Moscow’s favour.
