3.7.22
Ukraine's armed forces claimed overnight to have recaptured the city of Chuhuiv in the Kharkiv region, as part of their ongoing counter-offensive in the area. "In the course of hostilities, the city of Chuhuiv was liberated. The occupiers suffered heavy losses in personnel and equipment," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in an operational update on Facebook. The Ukrainian army also claimed to have killed two high-ranking Russian military commanders: Lt. Col. Dmitry Safronov, commander of the 61st Separate Marine Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces, and Lt. Col. Denis Glebov, deputy commander of the 11th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade. Chuhuiv is strategically located some 23 miles from Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, which been targeted by Russian forces for more than a week. Ukraine's military said defense forces continue to conduct "a defense operation in the South, East and North."
Ukrainian defense officials' claims to have retaken Chuhuiv came shortly before Russia announced a third attempt at creating humanitarian corridors in Ukraine, following reports that its military had violated previous cease-fires. Russia's military said on Monday morning that humanitarian corridors would be opened in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy and Mariupol, effective from 10 a.m. Moscow time. The official announcement cited a request from French President Emmanuel Macron to Putin.