The Ukrainian Army has retaken control of territory seized by separatists in 2015
The Ukrainian Army advanced about a mile into the “gray zone” along the Bakhmut road in the Donbas. As a result, a strategically important road to Luhansk that was controlled by the separatist and the village of Zholobok fell into the range of fire of the Ukrainian artillery, as reported on the Ukrainian TV program TSN Tyzhden.
According to the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the army’s advance cannot be considered an offensive. The retaken territory should be under Ukraine’s control according to the Minsk agreements. This includes the village of Zholobok, which is still controlled by the separatists.
These territories were lost in January 2015 after continuous attacks by separatists. At the time, the Ukrainian forces had to make a fighting retreat. However, this week it became known that the territories were regained without losses and even without a fight.
Ukrainian forces secured a new position at a distance of several hundred meters from the separatists. The freed territories will have to be cleared of mines because the separatists tested ammunition and installed mines and tripwires there.