Zelensky says the offensive in the south made it possible to liberate two cities

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured that the counter-offensive launched a week ago to retake the Russian-occupied territories in the south of the country has already resulted in the liberation of two cities.

“I won’t go into the details, but the Ukrainian flags are returning to the places where they should be by law,” the Ukrainian president said after another General Staff meeting that analyzed Ukraine’s war strategy.

In his speech on Sunday evening, Zelenky was a little more clear, saying that the 42nd Separate Motorized Infantry Battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces had liberated two towns in the south of the country “thanks to their heroic actions”.

Zelensky made these statements after the Ukrainian media photo of soldiers raising their country’s flag on the roofs of a hospital in Vysokopillya.

This town in the Kherson region, which had a population of about 4,000 before the war, is located south of Krivoy Rog and about 160 kilometers northeast of the occupied city of Kherson.

Just before, Presidential Cabinet Secretary Andriy Yermak posted the photo on the social network Telegram, writing “step by step”.

Step-by-step . pic.twitter.com/raT5nBycvO

— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) September 4, 2022

Ukraine has been attacking the logistics and supply lines of Russian forces in the south, as well as their warehouses, weapons depots and command and control posts for a week, to reduce capabilities and hinder Russian supplies.

Zelensky also said soldiers of the 63rd battalion of the 103rd Territorial Defense Brigade on the Eastern Front managed to liberate a town in the pro-Russian region of Donetsk, though he did not disclose its name. Ukrainian media claim it is the city of Ozerne, between Sloviansk and Siversk.

The Ukrainian president also assured that the 54th Brigade – which is on its way to Lisichansk [Lugansk] and Siversk [Donetsk] – “advanced and recovered in moments”.

Zelensky stressed that “the Ukrainian flag and freedom will return to Crimea”, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

“We will liberate all our countries, all our people,” Zelensky underlined once again in his speech.