22 Aug 2023 6:37 pm
KYIV, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Tuesday its troops had entered the strategic southeastern village of Robotyne, a potentially significant advance in its counteroffensive against Russian forces.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukrainian soldiers were organising the evacuation of civilians after entering Robotyne but were still coming under fire from Russian forces.
"Our soldiers in the village of Robotyne," General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of Ukrainian forces in the south, wrote on Telegram under a picture of a soldier in a tank.
Robotyne is 10 km (six miles) south of the frontline town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region on an important road towards Tokmak, a Russian-occupied road and rail hub.
Tokmak's capture would be a milestone as Ukrainian troops press southwards towards the Sea of Azov, a military push intended to split Russian occupying forces.
The Institute for the Study of War, an American research group and think tank, has described the Ukrainian attacks on Robotyne as "tactically significant". Advancing in the area could enable Ukrainian forces to begin operating beyond the densest of the Russian minefields that have held up the counteroffensive launched in early June, it said.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukrainian soldiers were organising the evacuation of civilians after entering Robotyne but were still coming under fire from Russian forces.
"Our soldiers in the village of Robotyne," General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of Ukrainian forces in the south, wrote on Telegram under a picture of a soldier in a tank.
Robotyne is 10 km (six miles) south of the frontline town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region on an important road towards Tokmak, a Russian-occupied road and rail hub.
Tokmak's capture would be a milestone as Ukrainian troops press southwards towards the Sea of Azov, a military push intended to split Russian occupying forces.
The Institute for the Study of War, an American research group and think tank, has described the Ukrainian attacks on Robotyne as "tactically significant". Advancing in the area could enable Ukrainian forces to begin operating beyond the densest of the Russian minefields that have held up the counteroffensive launched in early June, it said.