Ukraine claims to have re-taken control of several villages in southeastern Ukraine. <br /> <br />This may be the first set of successful results from Ukraine’s much-awaited counter-offensive. <br /> <br />Storozheve, Blahodatne, Neskuchne and Makarivka are a cluster of small villages in the western part of the Donetsk region. <br /> <br />The villages Ukraine claims to have liberated are still around 20km north of the main Russian defensive line. <br /> <br />Breaching these lines will likely be very costly for Ukraine. <br /> <br />Even a successful breach attempt would probably result in the loss of many soldiers and vehicles. <br /> <br />Ukraine’s counter-offensive is still in the early stages, with both Ukraine and Russia keeping significant forces in reserve. <br /> <br />* Simplified & approximate locations of fortifications and defences. Based on open-source research by Brady Africk. Report by Gracex. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
