17 June 2023
A Ukrainian soldier inspects a destroyed library in the newly liberated village of Blagodatne in Ukraine's Donetsk region on June 17, 2023.
— Photo by Serhiy Nuzhnenko / RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
A Ukrainian soldier examines a cultural centre in recently retaken Blahodatne, Velyka Novosilka settlement hromada, Volnovakha Raion, Donetsk Oblast.
— Photo by Libkos / AP Photo
A Ukrainian soldier on June 17 straightens his country's national flag, which was hung from the House of Culture in the newly liberated village of Blahodatne, near the front line in the Donetsk region. The village was among the first to be recaptured during the early stages of Kyiv's counteroffensive.
— Photo by Serhiy Nuzhnenko / RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
A framed painting of the Ukrainian poet, writer, and political figure Taras Shevchenko is surrounded by bullet holes in the library of Blahodatne's House of Culture.
— Photo by Serhiy Nuzhnenko / RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
A Ukrainian soldier walks through Blahodatne's House of Culture.
— Photo by Serhiy Nuzhnenko / RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
A Ukrainian soldier views the remains of a Russian armored personnel carrier.
— Photo by Serhiy Nuzhnenko / RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
A Ukrainian soldier walks through Blahodatne. The village is still littered with mines and explosives left over from the Russian occupation.
— Photo by Serhiy Nuzhnenko / RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Graffiti on a fence in Blahodatne that roughly translates as "People live here." According to the Ukrainian military, only two civilians are left in the village.
— Photo by Serhiy Nuzhnenko / RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service