“Today, at 01:30 (23:30 on Wednesday in Lisbon), in the Zaporizia region, the enemy tried to break through our defenses with (…) up to 1,500 men and 150 armored vehicles,” Shoigu said in a statement. .
“The enemy has been stopped and is retreating with heavy casualties,” he added.
In the statement, the Russian ruler indicates that “after a two-hour battle, the enemy lost 30 tanks, 11 infantry fighting vehicles and about 350 men”, although these claims cannot be independently verified.
The Ukrainian authorities did not immediately officially refer to this announcement.
Kiev has said for months that it is preparing a major counter-offensive against Russian forces, aiming to recapture Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow, including the Crimean peninsula annexed in 2014.
Observers believe that the intensification of “offensive operations” Kyiv has been carrying out along the front lines in recent weeks are the first signs of this long-awaited attack.
In a video published last Sunday, the Ukrainian army appeared to call soldiers to silence and said it would not make any announcement about the start of the offensive, for which the Russian army is also preparing, in order to maintain its positions .
Source: DN
