MELITOPOL, September 20. /TASS/. The Ukrainian forces have retreated from the outskirts of Staromayorskoye in the Vremevka area, where they had been trying to gain a foothold for a long time, the leader of the movement We Are Together With Russia, Vladimir Rogov has told TASS.

"There has been success in the Vremevka area. Near Staromayorskoye the Ukrainian troops have in fact retreated from the outskirts of this village, where they had been trying to gain a foothold for a long time. I would even say that the initiative is in our hands in the Vremevka area," Rogov said.

As the Russian Defense Ministry said, the Ukrainian army has been making unsuccessful offensive attempts since June 4. On September 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Ukrainian military had lost 71,500 soldiers, 543 tanks and almost 18,000 armored vehicles of different classes during this period. Putin stressed that the Ukrainian counter-offensive had been futile.