Soldiers of Ukraine's Third Assault Brigade said on Feb. 28 that they drove out Russian troops from the city of Krasnohorivka in Donetsk Oblast.
Maksym Zhorin, a deputy commander of Ukraine's Third Assault Brigade, called the pushback of Russian soldiers from the city a counterattack in response to the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Avdiivka on Feb. 17 and three villages after that.
According to the Ukrainian military, Russian forces attacked the southeastern part of Krasnohorivka on Feb. 27 and entered the town.
Soldiers from the first and second assault battalions of the Third Assault Brigade conducted a combat operation to clear the town of Russian troops, preventing them from gaining a foothold.
"As of now, Krasnohorivka is under the control of Ukrainian troops," the brigade said.
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The military said that in a short period of time, the Russian army managed to prepare for a "long defense." Despite this, Russian losses amounted to 100 soldiers killed and wounded, the brigade said.
"The Russians refused to surrender and were eliminated in the houses they occupied," the statement read.
In June 2023, the Ukrainian militaryreported about the liberation of territory near Krasnohorivka, which had been occupied since Russia’s initial invasion in 2014. The city in Donetsk Oblast is under regular Russian shelling, along with other front-line settlements.
After the occupation of Avdiivka, Russia intensified its offensive efforts in various parts of Ukraine's front line, likely in order to stretch Ukrainian forces, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported in its Feb. 21 intelligence update.
Amid ammunition shortages, the military said on Feb. 27 that Ukrainian soldiers withdrew from Stepove and Sievierne villages near Avdiivka. The day before, the village of Lastochkyne was occupied by Russia.