Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Monday evening that Ukraine has reclaimed over 170 square kilometers of territory near the town of Dobropillia in the east during recent counterattacks.

In his nightly video address, Zelensky said, “As of the start of today, our forces have liberated more than 174 square kilometers since the beginning of the operation, and have cleared more than 194 square kilometers” of Russian forces.

He added that Russian forces lost nearly 3,200 soldiers during the operation.

Zelensky noted that Ukrainian forces are facing difficult conditions on several fronts, including near the city of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv border region, and in areas between Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk.

In early August, Russian forces unexpectedly breached frontline positions east of Dobropillia, advancing about 20 kilometers. After Ukrainian reserves were deployed, they were partially pushed back. However, Ukrainian military analysts painted a less optimistic picture than the government narrative in Kyiv.

Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Monday evening that its forces had taken control of Zarichne (also known as Kirovsk) in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.

Separately, the Ukrainian army announced Monday that it shot down a Russian helicopter using a remotely controlled drone.

Robert Brovdi, commander of the Ukrainian drone aviation unit, said in a Telegram post that the downed helicopter was a MI-8 model.

The “59th Brigade” explained that the helicopter was shot down near the village of Kotliarivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

The frontline is just a few hundred meters from the mentioned village. According to media reports, the attack used a US-made “Switchblade” kamikaze drone, which costs only a few hundred dollars.