![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/The-Vostok-Battalion-commander-admitted-Ukrainian-tanks-charged-on-Urozhaine-4911529.jpg?r=1692177883205\")
<\/p>\n
Russian military bloggers have claimed Ukraine has thrown thousands of troops, as well as dozens of heavy tanks, into the attack on Urozhaine over the past few days.<\/p>\n
The spinal attack from Velyka Novosilka further north had made early gains at the start of the counter offensive but had stalled in recent weeks when Ukraine reached Staromayorskoye, across the Mokri Yaly River.<\/p>\n
Strategically, rivers provide a natural fortification – the point at which soldiers must cross is especially vulnerable to enemy fire – and Ukraine\u2019s attempts to recross the Mokri Yaly had proved difficult.<\/p>\n
But over the past week, after Ukraine had pushed into the northern outskirts of Urozhaine, Russian reports detailed a rapid retreat from the village.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/Hanna-Mailar-Ukraine-s-deputy-defence-minister-announced-the-liberation-4911528.jpg?r=1692177883260\")
<\/p>\n
Don’t miss… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n Pro-Kremlin Russian military bloggers had begun referring this week to Urozhaine as a \u201cgrey zone\u201d, a reference to territory controlled by neither side.<\/p>\n That in itself constituted an advance for Ukraine, since it was understood to be Russian-occupied the week previous, and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, added that pro-Kremlin sources \u201coften describe Ukrainian-held territory as \u2018grey zone\u2019 to minimise the reported scale of Russian losses\u201d.<\/p>\n Mikhail Zvinchuk, aka Rybar, an authoritative Russian milblogger with nearly 1.2 million followers on Telegram, has used the phrase \u201cgrey zone\u201d repeatedly to describe the situation in Urozhaine while concurrently admitting that Russian forces had retreated to the southern outskirts of the village.<\/p>\n In his latest update, he claimed that the \u201cfierce battle near Urozhaine continues\u201d, though he provided no more details.<\/p>\n While various Russian channels debated the potential loss of Urozhaine, the Vostok Battalion that had been stationed in the village, nicknamed \u201dHarvest\u201d, freely admitted on Tuesday morning (August 15) that they had \u201clost\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe lost Urozhaine, and at the same time caused such damage that part of our consciousness refuses to understand the motives of the Ukrainian command,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n Their comments about the mass destruction of Ukraine’s advancing forces – they even used the word \u201cslaughter\u201d – could not be verified, though several videos purport to show Russian forces striking Ukrainian tanks around Urozhaine.<\/p>\n Igor Girkin, the former leader of the Donetsk People\u2019s Republic, the region in which Urozhaine is located, mocked the Russian defence of the village on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n
Panicked Russian forces slaughtered by Ukrainian cluster bombs as they fled[REPORT] <\/strong>
Russian tank drives off cliff in desperate attempt to flee Ukraine attack[LATEST] <\/strong>
Putin humiliation as major tank battle ends in ‘pandemonium’ for Russian troops[REVEAL] <\/strong><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/Ukraine-s-main-objective-is-to-split-the-Russian-land-bridge-at-the-Sea-of-Azov-4911530.jpg?r=1692177883303\")
<\/p>\n