The Ukrainian military said on Friday that it was “consolidating” gains after President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that Ukraine had retaken one southern village in a renewed push into Russian-occupied territory.

The village, Staromaiorske, had been under Russian occupation since the early months of the war and was reclaimed by Ukrainian troops under heavy fire from Russian aircraft and artillery. The fighting for the village, effectively a ruin, offers a small window into the brutal battles that lie ahead as Ukraine’s troops try to break through multiple layers of Russian defensive positions that stretch around 20 miles deep in some areas.

“The battle for this village was difficult and long,” Ukraine’s 35th Brigade, which took part in the battle, said in a statement. “Every centimetre of liberation is the price of superhuman effort.”

The Ukrainian claim that it retook Staromaiorske — supported by videos verified by The New York Times that show Ukrainian troops inside the village — puts its forces one step closer in their march to the sea, though they have yet to break through Russia’s main defensive lines. Less than five miles to the south is Russian-occupied Staromlynivka.

Ready for talks: Putin

President Vladimir Putin on Friday repeated Russia's position that it was ready for negotiations with Ukraine, but that Kyiv was refusing to join them. Putin was responding to comments from African Union Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat.

Threat to ships

The Ukrainian President's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said on Friday that Russia was threatening civilian vessels in the Black Sea, and urged the international community to condemn what he said were "the methods of terrorists".

New York Times News Service and Reuters