Ukraine says it has retaken southeastern village of Rivnopil

[June 26, 2023]  (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces have liberated the southeastern village of Rivnopil from Russian control, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on Monday. 

Rivnopil lies west of a cluster of settlements that Ukraine says it recaptured from Russian forces earlier this month after launching a counteroffensive.

Ukrainian servicemen of the 47th Magura Separate Mechanised Brigade fire a BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system towards Russian troops near a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine June 25, 2023. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty/Serhii Nuzhnenko via REUTERS/File Photo

"(Ukrainian) Defence forces have brought Rivnopil back under our control. We are moving ahead," Maliar wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Maliar said in an earlier statement that Ukrainian forces had liberated about 130 square km (50 square miles) in the south since Ukraine since the counterattack began.

Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, still holds swathes of territory in the east and south.

(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; editing by Tom Balmforth and Timothy Heritage)

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