Ukraine’s military said on Sunday it had retaken the small village of Klishchiivka, the second settlement to come back under Kyiv’s control in three days and the most significant recent advance in its hard-fought counteroffensive to drive Russian forces from the country’s east.

Klishchiivka had been occupied by Russian forces since January when Wagner mercenaries captured it after weeks of combat as part of the nearly yearlong battle for the nearby city of Bakhmut.

After Bakhmut fell to Russian troops in May, Ukrainian forces almost immediately began a push to drive Moscow’s troops from areas to the north and south of the city. With Klishchiivka sitting on high ground overlooking roadways in and out of a ruined Bakhmut, the village was very much in their sights.

On Friday, the Ukrainian military said its forces had gained control of Andriivka, a small farming hamlet a little more than 3km to the south. Then on Sunday evening, the 80th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade posted a video of soldiers holding the yellow-and-blue flag of Ukraine in front of a ruined building and a destroyed church as loud booms echoed in the background.

“The settlement of Klishchiivka was finally freed,” read the video’s caption on Facebook, crediting its own fighters and those from two other brigades.

General Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander of Ukraine’s forces, soon announced the news, writing on Telegram that Klishchiivka had been “cleared of the Russians”, and in his nightly address, Ukrainian President Zelensky commended the soldiers.