Russian officials said their forces thwarted large Ukrainian attacks in two provinces of Ukraine illegally annexed by Moscow. Ukraine did not confirm the attacks, making it unclear whether they marked the start of an anticipated counteroffensive.Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a rare early morning video released Monday that its forces pushed back a “large scale” assault Sunday at five points in southern Ukraine’s Donetsk province, one of four regions that President Vladimir Putin claimed as Russian territory last fall but is only partially controlled by Moscow.
“The enemy’s goal was to break through our defences in the most vulnerable, in its opinion, sector of the front,” Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. “The enemy did not achieve its tasks. It had no success.”
Konashenkov said 250 Ukrainian personnel were killed, and 16 Ukrainian tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles and 21 armoured combat vehicles were destroyed.
Vladimir Rogov, a Moscow-installed official in southeast Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia province. said Sunday that Kyiv’s forces also attempted to breach Russian defenses there but were repelled after advancing 400 meters (less than a quarter-mile) into Russian-occupied territory.Active hostilities resumed early Monday, Rogov said, adding that “the enemy threw an even bigger force into the attack than yesterday.”
Ukrainian officials did not confirm the attacks. The Center for Strategic Communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Telegram that Russian forces were “stepping up their information and psychological operations.”