Ukraine retakes six villages Russia captured in recent push: army

Ukrainian army soldiers take part in a military exercise at a training ground outside Mariupol, eastern Ukraine on March 25, 2015. (Mstyslav Chernov / AP Photo)

Ukraine has retaken six villages Moscow captured in a recent push, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Friday, after Russia made a swift advance in the east ahead of the Putin-Trump summit.

On Tuesday, Russia made a swift push to the town of Dobropillia, piercing through Ukraine’s defences ahead of Friday’s summit in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin aimed at resolving the war.

“The advance of the enemy was stopped by the forces of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU) ‘AZOV’, together with adjacent and subordinate units, over the past three days,” Ukraine’s General Staff said.

It added that six villages in the area were retaken.

The Russian army’s gains on Tuesday were the biggest for a single 24-hour period in over a year, according to an AFP analysis of data from the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Ukrainian authorities ordered the evacuation of families with children from Dobropillia in July.

The town, which had a pre-conflict population of around 28,000, is now under constant Russian drone and shell fire.