Russia’s defense ministry announced the Russian troops have captured another village of Umanske in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, an area where Russian forces have been actively advancing and gaining territory.
According to the ministry’s statement on Sunday, “Russian troops have managed to liberate the village of Umanskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic,” referring to the Ukrainian village of Umanske.
Before the Russian military offensive in February 2022, Umanske was home to fewer than 180 residents. The village is situated about 25 kilometers northwest of Donetsk, the main city in the region, which is under Russian control.
Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov reported on Friday that Russia had made progress “in all tactical directions,” claiming that Moscow’s forces had seized 880 square kilometers (340 square miles) of territory this year alone.
Ukraine’s forces, though outnumbered and outgunned, have been under sustained pressure for several months, particularly since Russia’s renewed offensive around Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, in early May.
Russian troops have also been advancing eastward towards Pokrovsk, a city approximately 30 kilometers northwest of Umanske.
Kiev is hopeful that the anticipated delivery of Western munitions will enable its forces to regain the upper hand on the battlefield. Additionally, US President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Kiev to use American-supplied weapons to strike specific targets inside Russia has significantly bolstered Ukraine’s position.
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for Washington’s recent decision to permit limited strikes with American weapons on Russian territory. This expression of thanks occurred during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
A Ukrainian presidential statement following the talks noted, “The Head of State expressed gratitude for the adoption of an important decision by the US Presidential Administration to allow limited strikes with American weapons on the territory of Russia to effectively counter Russia’s attempts to expand the combat zone.”
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