![](https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/07/19/19/Russia_Ukraine_85281.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp)
Russian drone attacks
Ukraine’s military has said troops were seeing battlefield success after recapturing another village at a time Western nations indicated that a major warfare – likely a phase of counteroffensive – is taking place in the besieged country
War-time president Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed success on one of the front lines in southeast Ukraine. Mr Zelensky confirmed Ukrainian troops had taken the village of Staromaiorske.
“I thank everyone who is fighting for Ukraine! Thank you for the liberation of Staromaiorske. Congratulations again, guys!” he said in his nightly address.
Ukraine’s military had earlier said it was “solidifying positions” it had reached in the same area, east of the city of Zaporizhzhia.
This comes as Vladimir Putin admitted that Ukrainian attacks have intensified in recent days, as Kyiv ramps up the counteroffensive against Russian troops.
Speaking in St Petersburg at a summit of African leaders, the Russian president admitted that attacks by Ukrainian forces have “intensified significantly”, primarily in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Battles in recent weeks have taken place on multiple points along the 1,500-kilometer front line as Ukraine wages its counteroffensive.