Russia says it repelled Ukrainian offensives in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia regions
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Monday it had repelled attempted offensives by Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions and had hit targets with sea-launched high-precision missile strikes.
Ukraine said on Monday its troops had recaptured a fourth village from Russian forces in a cluster of settlements in the southeast, a day after reporting the first small gains of its long-anticipated counteroffensive, Reuters reported.
Russia said its forces had launched a strike on Ukrainian army reserve locations using long-range precision weaponry, launched from the sea.
Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine and Zaporizhzhia to its southwest are among five regions, including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
Russia also said on Sunday it had destroyed at least seven German-made Leopard tanks and five U.S.-made Bradley vehicles over 48 hours while repelling Ukrainian attacks, though Russian bloggers reported Ukraine had briefly pierced part of the Russian line.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged on Saturday that his military was engaged in “counter-offensive and defensive operations”, a day after President Vladimir Putin said Russia had repelled the first attacks of the offensive.
Russia’s Defence Ministry published several videos and pictures over recent days showing numerous strikes on Ukrainian-manned armoured vehicles and tanks from Ka-52 attack helicopters and drones.
In footage released by the ministry on Saturday, drones were shown striking tanks in the Zaporizhzhia region where Kyiv’s forces have so far focused their counteroffensive.