This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65894743
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Ukraine offensive: BBC goes inside village just freed from Russian forces | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Neskuchne saw some of the fiercest fighting in the region in recent days | |
| The BBC is among the first media organisations to gain access to some of the first villages liberated in Ukraine's counteroffensive. | The BBC is among the first media organisations to gain access to some of the first villages liberated in Ukraine's counteroffensive. |
| Out of this cluster of four settlements in the eastern Donetsk region, Neskuchne has seen the heaviest fighting according to the battalion which liberated it. | Out of this cluster of four settlements in the eastern Donetsk region, Neskuchne has seen the heaviest fighting according to the battalion which liberated it. |
| Its name means "not boring" in Russian. | Its name means "not boring" in Russian. |
| An obvious irony for a village that was occupied by Russia in spring last year - a few weeks after President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. | |
| It was at the most northern point of a protruding Russian front line. | |
| As our army escort, Anatoliy, speeds along scarred roads in his camouflaged truck towards Neskuchne, it's clear this is a different kind of liberation to what we saw last year. | As our army escort, Anatoliy, speeds along scarred roads in his camouflaged truck towards Neskuchne, it's clear this is a different kind of liberation to what we saw last year. |
| Firstly there are no civilians here. The only remnants of civilisation come in the form of a blown out pharmacy and food store. | Firstly there are no civilians here. The only remnants of civilisation come in the form of a blown out pharmacy and food store. |
| There isn't a complex network of trenches either. A makeshift wooden bridge over a river is all it takes to take us into territory Russia has held for so long. | There isn't a complex network of trenches either. A makeshift wooden bridge over a river is all it takes to take us into territory Russia has held for so long. |
| Buildings are also riddled with bullet holes from smaller calibre weapons. There's been a lot of close quarter fighting here. | Buildings are also riddled with bullet holes from smaller calibre weapons. There's been a lot of close quarter fighting here. |
| The BBC was among the first news organisations to get access to Neskuchne | |
| Anatoliy doesn't like to hang around for long. | Anatoliy doesn't like to hang around for long. |
| Mortars are periodically fired from Ukrainian troops hidden in thick tree lines or abandoned gardens. He explains the Russians are just on the brow of hill in three directions. | Mortars are periodically fired from Ukrainian troops hidden in thick tree lines or abandoned gardens. He explains the Russians are just on the brow of hill in three directions. |
| The sudden rising of three plumes of smoke is a cue to keep moving. The Russians are responding with Grad missiles. | The sudden rising of three plumes of smoke is a cue to keep moving. The Russians are responding with Grad missiles. |
| The situation here is far more fluid than the triumphant claims of liberation which had come from from Kyiv this week. | The situation here is far more fluid than the triumphant claims of liberation which had come from from Kyiv this week. |
| Russian forces have been pushing back as recently as last night, which Ukrainian officials have now acknowledged. | Russian forces have been pushing back as recently as last night, which Ukrainian officials have now acknowledged. |
| Ukraine's counteroffensive is in its early stages with modest gains. | Ukraine's counteroffensive is in its early stages with modest gains. |
| If Neskuchne is anything to go by, any liberation will be far from immediate, and won't necessarily bring freedom straight away. | If Neskuchne is anything to go by, any liberation will be far from immediate, and won't necessarily bring freedom straight away. |
| What will it take for Ukraine's offensive to succeed? | |
| Satellite images reveal Russian defences before major assault | Satellite images reveal Russian defences before major assault |
| Earlier this week, a video emerged purportedly showing two Ukrainian soldiers raising the country's blue-and-yellow national flag on destroyed buildings in Neskuchne. | |
| The loud booming sound of nearby shelling can also be heard. | |
| Watch: A video on social media purports to show a Ukrainian flag being raised in Neskuchne, Donetsk Oblast | Watch: A video on social media purports to show a Ukrainian flag being raised in Neskuchne, Donetsk Oblast |
| Watch: A video on social media purports to show a Ukrainian flag being raised in Neskuchne, Donetsk Oblast | Watch: A video on social media purports to show a Ukrainian flag being raised in Neskuchne, Donetsk Oblast |
| Related Topics | |
| Russia-Ukraine war | |
| Russia | |
| Ukraine |