KYIV, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Ukraine announced the recapture of the village of Urozhaine from Russian troops in the southeast on Wednesday, but warned the situation on the northeastern front was deteriorating amid Russian counter-attacks.

Urozhaine, on the edge of Donetsk region, is the first village Kyiv says it has retaken since July 27, a sign of the challenge Ukraine faces advancing through heavily mined Russian defensive lines without powerful air support.

"Urozhaine is liberated," Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app. "Our defenders are entrenched on the outskirts."

The village is one of several small rural settlements near the Mokri Yaly river that Ukraine has declared liberated since early June, when it launched a long-touted counteroffensive against Russian troops who occupy swathes of the south and east.

Its recapture would bring Kyiv closer to threatening the village of Staromlynivka, several kilometres to the south, which military analysts say is a Russian stronghold in the area.

Russia's defence ministry did not confirm losing Urozhaine in a statement on Telegram but said its artillery and warplanes were attacking Ukrainian forces in the Urozhaine area.

The village's recapture would indicate Ukraine is pressing ahead with an offensive drive south towards the Sea of Azov that aims to cut Russian occupying forces in half. Urozhaine lies just over 90 km (55 miles) from the Sea of Azov.