Ukrainian forces raise the national flag in the settlement of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, in this screen grab taken from a social media video released August 23, 2023.
Yevgeny Balitsky, the top Moscow-installed official in the Zaporizhzhia region, said in a television interview that the Russian army had withdrawn for what he called tactical reasons.
"The Russian army abandoned - tactically abandoned - this settlement because staying on a bare surface when there is no way to completely dig in... doesn't generally make sense.
Therefore the Russian army moved off into the hills," news outlet RBC quoted him as saying.
Russia has not previously acknowledged the loss of Robotyne, whose recapture was announced by Ukraine on Aug. 28.
Persons:
Valerii, Yevgeny Balitsky, doesn't, Robotyne, Mark Trevelyan, Michael Perry
Organizations:
Kyiv, RBC, Russian Defence Ministry, Thomson
Locations:
Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, ., Russia