A Ukrainian counterattack north and west of the capital, Kyiv, appears to have made some progress, jeopardizing Russian efforts to encircle the city and threatening the ability of Russian forces to resupply forward units exposed north of the city.
Geotagged videos on Monday show Ukrainian soldiers waving the national flag over a building in the town of Makarev, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Kyiv.
Then, early Tuesday, Ukraine’s armed forces said in a social media post that they had regained control of Makarev.
After 24 hours of fighting, a “Ukrainian state flag was raised over the city of Makarev” as the Russians retreated, the armed forces said on Facebook.
The city is strategically located due to the west of Kyiv.
The head of the Kyiv regional police, Andrei Nepetov, toured Makarev on Monday. a Video From his visit it showed widespread devastation and the city seemed deserted.
Makarev is still being bombed, Nepetov said, indicating that the vicinity is still in dispute. Another officer told him during the tour that artillery fire was coming from five kilometers (three miles) to the north, an area still controlled by the Russians.
“Makarev is still under fire,” he said. He added that “every civilian building and private homes were destroyed as a result of the artillery bombardment.”
“There is almost no one in the city,” Nebitov said in the video. “There are no inhabitants, and no one takes them away.”
At one time, Nepetov moved a monument to the villagers “who gave their lives for the Soviet motherland, in 1941-1945,” as he put it. repeats itself.”
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