On Monday, Russia said it had pushed back “A large-scale attack“Ukrainian in Donbass (East) has been announcing for months that it is preparing a major operation to recapture its territories, without immediate confirmation from Kyiv.
“On the morning of June 4, the enemy launched a full-scale offensive in the southern direction of the Donetsk region in front of five divisions.“, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a press release, without specifying the exact location of the battle.
“The enemy did not achieve his goal, he did not succeed“He added that his announcement was accompanied by a video showing aerial footage of Ukrainian armored vehicles destroyed by Russian forces.
According to the report, Russian Army Chief of Staff General Valery Gerasimov said, “One of the forward command posts in this direction was at this period“.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Ukrainian army carried out the attack with six mechanized battalions and two tank battalions.
For his part, Vladimir Rokov, the Russian occupation officer in the Zaporizhia region (southern Ukraine), said that Ukrainian forces attacked Russian positions there on Monday morning.
“This morning, Ukrainian forces launched an offensive, on a larger scale than yesterday (…). The situation is alarming“, he said, quoted by the official agency TASS.
Peace in Kiev
Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on the events.
Kyiv has been saying for months that it is preparing a major counteroffensive against Russian forces. In a video released on Sunday, the Ukrainian military appeared to call on soldiers to remain calm and said there would be no announcement of the launch of the attack.
In addition to the Ukrainian offensive in Donbass announced by Moscow, fighting broke out Sunday in the Russian region of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, between the Russian military and pro-Ukrainian Russian militias, according to the regional governor.
“A sabotage group has arrived and a fight is taking place at Novaya Tavolzhanga“, a border village, said Vyacheslav Klatkov, governor of the Belgorod region, in Telegram.”I hope they will all be destroyed“.
He added that the invaders, described as Russian fighters engaged on the Kyiv side, took prisoners and offered an exchange.
One of these pro-Ukrainian groups, “Freedom Army for Russia“He promised to transfer the prisoners to Ukrainian authorities who routinely arrange prisoner exchanges with Russian forces.
After more than 15 months of fighting on Ukrainian territory, this is the first time a Russian official has admitted that Russian fighters have been captured on Russian territory.
The Russian army then “”A sabotage group formed by Ukrainian terroristswho tried to cross the border.
New strikes in Russia
The fighting around Novaya Davozhanga follows the incursion of pro-Ukrainian forces into the Belgorod region last month, forcing Moscow to use artillery and air power on its own soil.
Anti-Kremlin Russian nationalist groups claimed the border violation.
Villages near the border have come under heavy shelling by Ukraine for a week, prompting thousands of people to flee to the region’s main city of Belgorod.
Overnight from Sunday to Monday, the Belgorod region was again targeted by Ukrainian strikes and drone strikes, which injured one person and damaged an energy infrastructure site, Vyacheslav Klatkov said.
“During the night strikes (…) energy infrastructure was damaged. Worst of all, civilians were injured“, M. Gladkov wrote on the VKontakte social network.
A drone was also shot down in the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, according to local governor Roman Starovoit.
AFP
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