Ukraine liberates strategic southeastern settlement; Russian strike kills at least two

Ukraine claimed on Monday (August 28) that Russia launched an overnight missile strike on an industrial facility in the central region of Poltava. At least two people died and several more were injured. 

Presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on social media, that "the Russians carried out a missile attack on the village of Gogoleve... in the Poltava region." He said the same on social media, adding that the victims were employees of a vegetable oil facility that was hit in the Myrhorod district. 

Yermak wrote on Telegram that people were working the night shift. He also posted photos showing tankers engulfed in flames and the destroyed metal structures of the plant. 

On the same day, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed head of the region, wrote on Telegram that Russian air defences downed two Ukrainian drones over Russian-annexed Crimea. 

He said one drone was downed in the northern part of the Black Sea peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and the other one in the west. 

Ukraine also claimed on Monday that its troops had liberated the south-eastern settlement of Robotyne and were trying to advance further south in their counteroffensive against Russian forces, Reuters reports. 

Ukraine claimed in recent weeks that its counteroffensive is underway which was launched in June after stockpiling Western-supplied weapons, building up assault battalions and working to degrade Russian positions. The war-torn nation also said that the nation was making advances on all fronts despite consistent Russian attacks. 

A commander who led troops into Robotyne told Reuters last week that Ukrainian forces believe they have broken through the most difficult line of Russian defences in the south and that they will now start advancing more quickly. 

"Robotyne has been liberated. Our forces are advancing southeast of Robotyne and south of Mala Tokmachka," Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said on television. 

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar was also quoted as saying by the military that "Robotyne has been liberated". 

The region is crucial as it is 10km south of the frontline town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region on an important road towards Tokmak, a Russian-occupied road and rail hub. 

Tokmak's capture, according to analysts, would be a significant development as Ukrainian forces advance southward into the Sea of Azov to separate Russian forces after Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

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