Ukrainian forces have retaken the village of Belogorovka in Luhansk, part of the Donbas region that Russian forces spent nearly five months conquering, writes James Kilner.
Serhiy Gaidai, the Ukrainian head of Luhansk, said Ukrainian soldiers were now in “full control” of Belogorovka.
“We should all be patient in anticipation of large-scale unemployment in the Luhansk region,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “This process will be much more difficult than in the Kharkiv region.”
Reports had said that Ukrainian forces had breached the Oskil River in the city of Kupiansk and possibly pushed into Luhansk, but Gaidai’s comments are the first from an official to confirm recent successes by Ukrainian soldiers in the camp of battle
Vladimir Putin has justified his invasion of Ukraine by saying he had to defend what he said were the pro-Russian populations of Luhansk and Donetsk, which make up Donbas.
Belogorovka is important because it is only a dozen miles from the cities of Lysychansk and Severdonestsk, two important regional economic centers. It is also about 45 miles from the Oskil River, indicating progress by Ukrainian forces.