Ukraine's military said it had recaptured a new village in the eastern Donetsk province on Wednesday, while escalation continues in the Black Sea amid ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports matched by Kiev's display of coastal protection.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said her country's forces had "liberated" the village of Uruzin and were continuing their offensive in the region.

Uruzin, which was home to about a thousand people before the war, is among a group of villages that Ukrainian forces have retaken some of them since the start of their counteroffensive on June 4.

Ukrainian soldiers in the recaptured village of Uruzin in Donetsk province (Reuters)

Also in Donetsk, Ukrainian forces continue their attacks around the city of Pakhmut, which Russian forces seized in May.

To the north, on the border between the Donetsk and Kharkiv provinces, Ukrainian forces are facing a Russian counteroffensive towards the city of Kobiansk.

In Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that its forces targeted an observation post in the direction of Pakhmut and an infantry division, and said that it repelled 4 attacks by Ukrainian forces in the direction of Liman, killing about 70 members of Ukrainian forces.

The ministry also announced the destruction of a Ukrainian artillery base in the Zaporizhye section (southeast) using a Lancet drone.

Also in Zaporizhia, the Ukrainian army continues to advance towards the town of Robotin, about 90 kilometers from the Sea of Azov, but faces strong Russian defensive fortifications.

Grain warehouse in Ukrainian port on the Danube damaged by Russian strike (European News Agency)

Escalation in the Black Sea

In defiance of Russia, Kiev announced a Hong Kong-flagged ship named Joseph Schalte through the humanitarian corridor designated by Kiev outside the grain transport agreement, becoming the first ship to sail through this temporary corridor established for civilian ships to and from Black Sea ports.

The ship is expected to arrive at the Turkish port of Amberli on the Sea of Marmara in Istanbul on August 18, according to estimates.

The development comes days after Russia announced the interception of a cargo ship bound for a Ukrainian port.

It also comes at a time when Russian forces have carried out more strikes on Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea in the Odessa region (south) and the port of "Rene" on the Danube River west of Odessa.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian naval spokesman Dmitry Plitenchuk said his country has missile systems that secure its coastline for a hundred nautical miles.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Pletinchuk added that beyond the hundred-mile range, the Ukrainian navy has what he described as its own means to complete and carry out all the tasks required of it.

Ukraine's State Security Service released videos showing what it said were locally manufactured Ukrainian naval drones.

The head of the Ukrainian State Security Service also said, in an interview with CNN, that the naval marches that attacked during the last period the Crimean bridge, a landing ship and a Russian fuel tanker are developed by the Ukrainian security service.

As part of the mutual air attacks, the Russian Defense Ministry said its air defense systems destroyed three Ukrainian drones over the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow.

NATO Membership

Olga Stephanishna, Ukraine's deputy prime minister for European and Atlantic integration, said on Wednesday that any concession on her country's NATO membership would be a reward for Russia.

In response to a question about the statement of Stian Jensen, director of the NATO secretary-general's office, in which he said that the possible solution for Ukraine would be to cede its territory and obtain NATO membership in return, Stephanishna explained that this will only lead to the continuation of terrorism and blackmail.

The vast majority of Ukraine's partners are aware of the danger of fueling what she described as Russia's imperialist ambitions.

The Ukrainian official also said that the views expressed by the director of the office of the secretary general of NATO do not in any way reflect the official position of the alliance.