Ukraine takes control of Piatykhatky village on Zaporizhzhia front: Official

A Russian-installed official acknowledged on Sunday that Ukraine had recaptured a village in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, its first gain on that front since it launched its counter-offensive earlier this month.

The official, Vladimir Rogov, said Ukrainian forces had taken the settlement of Piatykhatky and were entrenching themselves there while coming under fire from Russian artillery.

“The enemy’s ‘wave-like’ offensives yielded results, despite enormous losses,” Rogov said on the Telegram messaging app.

Heavy fighting continues in the area, he added. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, and Reuters could not independently confirm the situation on the battlefield.

Russian defense ministry said later on Sunday that its forces had repelled a series of Ukrainian attacks across three sections of the front line, where it said Ukraine was pressing most actively in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports.

The statement did not mention the settlement of Piatykhatky in Zaporizhzhia region.

Russia says it is inflicting heavy losses on Kyiv’s forces and President Vladimir Putin said last week that Ukraine had “no chance” of success in the counter-offensive.

Ukraine said last week it had regained control of about 100 square kilometers (38 square miles) of territory in just over a week, recapturing a string of villages in Donetsk region to the east.