Ukraine confirms Russian forces captured a key settlement

On July 14th, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported its armed forces captured the village of Urozhaine in Donetsk. The news was a significant blow since Urozhaine was a town retaken by Ukraine during its 2023 counter-offensive. 

David Axe of Forbes reported that Urozhaine had a pre-war population of roughly a thousand people but was an important strategic piece toward the goal of retaking the port city Mariupol during the 2023 counter-offensive. 

Ukraine's 2023 counter-offensive would later end in failure but Urozhaine stayed in Ukrainian hands until Moscow made a major push to capture the village during the spring of 2024. 

In May 2023, a war update from the Institute for the Study of War noted that geolocated footage indicated Russian forces were advancing on Urozhaine, but it wasn’t until July that they appeared to recapture the village from Ukraine. 

"As a result of successful actions, the 'east' group of forces has taken control of the locality of Urozhaine in Donetsk region...and are carrying out mopping-up and demining operations," the Russian Ministry of Defence wrote on Telegram according to Reuters. 

Urozhaine was taken by Russia early in the invasion but was recaptured by Ukrainian forces in August 2023 during its summer counter-offensive, an operation meant to push Russia out of Eastern Ukraine that ultimately did not accomplish its objective.   

Ukrainian authorities weren’t quick to comment on the Russian Defense Ministry’s claim its forces took Urozhaine. However, a spokesperson from the Ukrainian forces operating in the east of the country did speak to Newsweek about the situation.

Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn told Newsweek he could not comment on Moscow’s claims since “real battles” were still occurring, though Voloshyn did note at the time that “the situation [was] difficult” and Russian attacks in the area had increased.

Whether or not Russia had captured Urozhaine was unknown since there was evidence to suggest that the village had fallen. However, it didn’t take long for Voloshyn to confirm that Moscow had retaken Urozhaine, something he did on July 18th. 

Voloshyn revealed to Interfax that Ukrainian forces withdrew from Urozhaine "due to the fact that the enemy destroyed almost everything in Urozhaine," based on a translation of the lieutenant colonel’s comments published by The Kyiv Independent. 

The decision to withdraw Ukrainian forces from the village was made “to preserve the lives and health of our personnel who were defending there,” Voloshyn continued before adding that not much was lost to the Russians in the end. 

"The settlement itself was also almost completely destroyed by enemy shelling. The positions of the Ukrainian defenders were destroyed and keeping personnel there was a threat to the lives of our soldiers,” Voloshyn said. 

Voloshyn also said Russia suffered “considerable losses every day” and explained that these troops died to take over a ruined village that was surrounded by the dead troops sent by Moscow to recapture Urozhaine. 

“To achieve success and some victories in the destroyed towns and villages, the enemy suffers considerable losses every day,” Voloshyn told Interfax according to a translation of his comments published by Ukrainska Pravda in its reporting. 

“Several hundred of them have been killed, and the result is a destroyed settlement and a pile of corpses of Russian soldiers around it who will not return home to their families,” Voloshyn added. 

Urozhaine is still under the fire control of Ukraine, meaning that the village is within range of Ukrainian artillery but the settlement’s loss is likely to prove to be a blow to troops even if it is not a significant strategic loss for Ukraine. 

Symbolically, Urozhaine was one of the several key villages and towns that have been so critical to the morale of both sides. A village, no matter how small, taken back from the enemy but then lost again can have a significant effect on morale. 

Never miss a story! Click here to follow The Daily Digest.