Russian army reports ‘liberation’ of Zaitseve settlement in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Russia previously ‘took control’ of this settlement in August

The Russian Defence Ministry said in its daily bulletin that Russian troops, along with the forces of the Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics”, have “liberated” the settlement of Zaitseve in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

The ministry stated that Russia had eliminated over 120 soldiers of the 58th Independent Motorised Infantry Brigade and the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as three infantry fighting vehicles.

The Russian army thwarted the attempted advance of three battalion-tactical groups of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of Kupyansk, the ministry spokesman said. The Ukrainian army did not perform any military operations in the area of Lyman, he added.

This is not the first time Russia has reported the “liberation” of Zaitseve, Dozhd TV channel points out. In late August, it was stated on Russian federal TV that the “allied forces” had taken control of the Zaitseve settlement and an entire unit of Ukrainian troops.

Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied this information so far.

On 4 October, Operational Command South of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine had liberated eight settlements in the Kherson region previously occupied by the Russian army: Lyubymivka, Khreshchenivka, Zolota Balka, Bilyaivka, Ukrainka, Velyka Oleksandrivka, Mala Oleksandrivka, and Davydiv Brid. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had already liberated 1,534 settlements previously occupied by the Russian forces.

On 1 October, the Ukrainian army stated that they had liberated five settlements near Lyman in the Donetsk region and encircled the Russian troops there. On 2 October, Zelensky announced that Ukraine had established full control over Lyman. The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed that the Russian forces had withdrawn from the city.