Ukraine reports small gains in early stages of retaliation

Ukraine said on Monday it had recaptured a fourth village from Russian troops as part of a counteroffensive

Ukraine said on Monday its troops had recaptured a fourth village from Russian forces in a cluster of settlements in the south east, a day after reporting the first small gains of its long-anticipated counteroffensive.

The task of ending Moscow's occupation of southern and eastern Ukraine is daunting, given Russia's numerical superiority in men, ammunition and air power, and the many months it has had to build defensive fortifications.

Kyiv said on Sunday its forces had liberated three villages-Blahodatne, Neskuchne and Makarivka-and on Monday, soldiers were seen in video holding up the Ukrainian flag in nearby Storozheve. Reuters confirmed the location of the footage.

The defence minister thanked the 35th Separate Brigade of Marines for regaining control of the village.

Ukraine's capture of the four villages in a matter of days is already its most rapid advance for seven months, though still short of a major breakthrough of Russia's deep defensive lines.

The claimed advance adds up to just five km (three miles) in total, still some 90 km (55 miles) from the Azov Sea coast and the interim prize of cutting Russia's "land bridge" to Crimea, the peninsula Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014.