Ukraine’s breakthrough at Urozhaine pushes Russian positions further towards Mariupol

Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar has announced that the Ukrainian army has liberated the village of Urozhaine in the Donetsk region of the country.

“Our defenders are fortifying their new positions. The offensive is continuing,” Maliar wrote on Telegram, Meduza reports.

On August 14, Maliar reported that the Ukrainian offensive had “made some progress” in the area. The Russian pro-war Telegram channel Rybar later wrote that, following the Russian military’s retreat from Urozhaine, the village was “in the gray zone.” While reportedly “fully in control” in the north of the village, the Ukrainian units were under artillery and aerial fire in the south.

By morning on August 15, the Russian battalion Vostok admitted having lost its positions at Urozhaine. In an emotional Telegram post, the writer expressed shock at the ferocity of the battle that went on there.

The Ukrainian military started its assault on the fortified Russian positions at Urozhaine on August 8. Shortly afterwards, The New York Times predicted that, if forced to retreat from the area, the Russian army would have to move its positions to the second line of defence farther south, in the direction of Staromlynivka. The Ukrainian army would then find itself only 80 kilometres (or just under 50 miles) away from Berdyansk and Mariupol on the Azov Sea coast.