Ukraine Takes City in Donetsk, Eliminates Over 1,000 Russian Troops: Kyiv

The Ukrainian military claims to have taken control of a city in the embattled Donetsk region on the same day that it purportedly eliminated more than 1,000 Russian troops from the battlefield.

Maksym Zhorin, deputy commander of Ukraine’s Third Assault Brigade, said in a Telegram post on Wednesday that Russian forces had been pushed out of Krasnohorivka, a city on the western outskirts of the region’s eponymous capital, as part of a “counterattacking” effort in response to a series of recent setbacks.

“The third assault unit knocked out the occupiers from Krasnohorivka in Donetsk region!” the brigade wrote in a separate Telegram post. “The Russians refused to surrender and were liquidated in the houses they occupied. As of now, Krasnohorivka is under the control of Ukrainian troops!”

The purported capturing of the city follows Ukraine’s February 17 loss of Avdiivka, a city about 18 miles to the northeast of Krasnohorivka, which occurred after months of fighting. Ukraine also retreated from two other villages near Avdiivka earlier this week.

The Third Assault Brigade claimed that Russian forces suffered at least 100 casualties, including deaths and service ending-injuries, during the capturing of Krasnohorivka.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in a post to Facebook on Wednesday that Russia had a total of 1,060 casualties on the same day, while suffering equipment losses that included 20 artillery systems and 14 tanks.

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Russian Ministry of Defense via email on Wednesday night.

Ukraine claims that Russia has lost a total of 412,610 military personnel since the invasion began on February 24, 2022, alongside 6,570 tanks, 342 aircraft, 25 warships, 10,029 artillery systems and 7,753 drones. Newsweek has not independently verified any of Ukraine’s war claims.

Kyiv managed to spark the “ire” of Russian military bloggers and “concerns about Ukraine’s use of HIMARS systems” after an attack on a Russian military awards ceremony in the Donetsk settlement of Olenivka on Monday night, according to a report published on Wednesday by U.S.-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

At least 19 Russian personnel were purportedly killed in the strike, including a deputy brigade commander, a captain and a major. According to the think tank, pro-Moscow bloggers have become “increasingly concerned that Ukrainian forces are able to exploit poor Russian operational security practices.”

Regardless of the taking of Krasnohorivka and casualties inflicted on Russian forces, there is little doubt that Moscow has gained the upper hand in the war in recent weeks, especially in the Donetsk region.

Zev Faintuch, senior intelligence analyst at security firm Global Guardian, previously told Newsweek that the situation in Donetsk shows that Ukraine is “both outmanned and outgunned along the front” and “needs to adopt an active defense strategy.”

Ukraine’s recent difficulties on the battlefield were preceded by the flow of foreign military aid slowing to a trickle at the beginning of the year. Around $60 billion in additional U.S. aid remains stalled in Congress amid a series of partisan disputes that may be especially difficult to resolve during an election year.

British Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, head of the U.K.’s Armed Forces, suggested during an event in London on Tuesday that Ukraine may be unable to launch another large counteroffensive effort until next year. Radakin said that Kyiv is “struggling in terms of its ammunition and its stockpiles.”