 Ukraine's troops on June 12 had recaptured a fourth village in a cluster of settlements in the southeast, a day after reporting the first small gains of a counteroffensive against Russian forces. Soldiers held up the Ukrainian flag in Storozhev and the Donetsk region in video footage posted online and the Defense Minister thanked the 35th Separate Brigade of Marines for regaining control of the village. Ukraine has enforced strict operational silence to avoid compromising in operation and hopes will retake swaths of land in the east and south, and threaten the land bridge Russia uses to supply the occupied Crimea peninsula. Russia, which said last week the counteroffensive had begun, has depicted it as a failure so far, posting images of destroyed American and German-made fighting vehicles and tanks.