Ukraine claims recapture of seven villages in early stages of counteroffensive

By JAMEY KEATEN
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine says its troops have retaken seven villages from Russian forces in the country’s south and southeast. The reported gains emerged Monday in the early stages of the nation’s counteroffensive. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on the Telegram app that the Ukrainian flag was again flying over the village of Storozhov in the eastern Donetsk region. She also reported gains in villages in the neighboring Zaporizhzhia province. The gains were impossible to verify and could be reversed in the to-and-fro of war. They amounted to 35 square kilometers.