Russia said on Monday it had repulsed a “massive offensive” by Ukraine in the Donetsk region on Sunday, killing 250 Ukrainian servicemen and destroying dozens of Ukrainian combat vehicles.
So far, Ukrainian authorities have not confirmed an offensive in Donetsk, one of four regions in eastern Ukraine illegally annexed by Russia last fall.
“On the morning of June 4, the enemy launched a massive offensive on five sectors of the front in the direction of Yuzhnodonetsky,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.
“The enemy has not achieved his goal, he has not succeeded,” he added. In the same note, the ministry indicated that the Ukrainian army led this offensive with six mechanized battalions and two tank battalions.
Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said 250 Ukrainian servicemen were killed and 16 Ukrainian tanks, three combat vehicles and 21 armored vehicles were destroyed.
A video posted by the ministry on the Telegram platform shows alleged Ukrainian armored vehicles, filmed from the air, being destroyed by Russian forces.
In a rare mention of the presence of Russia’s top military leaders in battlefield operations, Konashenkov said that the Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Valery Gerasimov, was “at one of the forward command posts”.
The entry comes after criticism from the head of Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, that top military leaders have not been seen on the front lines or taken control or responsibility for military operations in Ukraine.
Kiev has claimed for months that it is preparing for a major offensive against Moscow’s occupying forces, in a bid to regain territories lost since the Russian invasion, which began in February 2022.
In a video released on Sunday, Ukrainian military leaders said there would be no public announcement about the start of the offensive.
The Russian military invasion of Ukrainian territory launched on February 24 last year – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the international community in the general. which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
According to the latest data from the United Nations, the war has so far led to the flight of more than 14.7 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 8.2 million to European countries.
Source: DN
