Zaporizhzhia Update: Russia Claims It Recaptured Key Outpost of Robotyne

War
Post At: May 15/2024 07:50PM

Russian forces have captured Robotyne, a key village on Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia front, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

The ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that Robotyne is now under the control of Russia's Dnieper Group of Forces.

The Context

Zaporizhzhia is one of the four Ukrainian regions that Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed to have annexed in the fall of 2022, following referendums that were deemed illegal under international law and condemned by the United Nations.

Kyiv's forces pushed to liberate the region during a counteroffensive that began in early June 2023, and Moscow's troops abandoned Robotyne in September.

What We Know

"Units of the Dnieper Group of Forces completely liberated the settlement of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia region," the defense ministry said.

Moscow's forces also destroyed equipment and killed personnel from Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade and the 23rd Brigade—a unit of the Ukrainian National Guard—in the village of Mala Tokmachka in the same region, in the city of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region, and in Zolota Balka, a village in the southern Kherson region.

Ukraine hasn't commented on the Russian ministry's claims and Newsweek has contacted Kyiv authorities for comment via email.

Robotyne was one of the few settlements that Ukraine successfully recaptured from Russian forces during its counteroffensive last year.

Last fall, Yevgeny Balitsky, the head of the Moscow-installed administration in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia region, said during a broadcast of Russian state TV show Solovyov Live that the Russian army had pulled out of the area for tactical reasons.

"The Russian army abandoned—tactically abandoned—this settlement because staying on a bare surface when there is no way to completely dig in doesn't generally make sense. Therefore the Russian army retreated to the hills," Russian news outlet RBC quoted Balitsky as saying at the time.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

A Ukrainian serviceman near the front-line village of Robotyne, in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, on October 1, 2023. In May 2024, Moscow has claimed that it has recaptured the village amid advances across the... A Ukrainian serviceman near the front-line village of Robotyne, in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, on October 1, 2023. In May 2024, Moscow has claimed that it has recaptured the village amid advances across the front line. ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images

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