New Delhi: Ukraine said on Monday that its military forces successfully regained control over the southeastern town of Robotyne and were trying to push further south in their counteroffensive against Russian forces, news agency Reuters reported.
Last week, the Ukrainian military said that its forces had raised the national flag in the strategic settlement, but were still carrying out mopping-up operations.
According to a commander who led troops into Robotyne, the Ukrainian forces believe they have broken through the most difficult line of Russian defences in the south and that they will now start advancing more quickly.
"Robotyne has been liberated," Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar was quoted as saying by the military.
As per the news agency, the settlement is 10 km south of the frontline town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region on an important road towards Tokmak, a Russian-occupied road and rail hub.
Securing Tokmak would mark a significant achievement as Ukrainian forces continue their southward push towards the Sea of Azov in a military drive that is intended to split Russian forces following Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
According to Reuters, Maliar told Ukrainian television that Kyiv's troops, who began their counteroffensive in early June, were now moving southeast of Robotyne and south of nearby Mala Tokmachka.
Meanwhile, Ukraine claimed on Monday that Russia launched an overnight missile strike on an industrial facility in the central region of Poltava, killing at least four people and injuring several others.
"The people were working the night shift," Presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on the Telegram messaging app.
The Ukrainian military said Russia had launched four missiles from the Black Sea overnight, two of which were shot down.
The Ukrainian forces are also fighting Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, and progress has been slower than had been widely expected in the counteroffensive because they have encountered vast Russian minefields and trenches.
In the past week, Maliar had described the battlefield situation in the east as "very hot." She had said that Russian troops were gathering new forces there and regrouping, and Moscow was aiming to deploy its best troops there.