Russia: Counterattacking Ukrainian forces suffer heavy casualties in the south

Since the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in southern Ukraine at the beginning of the week, Kiev forces have suffered heavy losses, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Wednesday.

He spoke of 1,700 dead Ukrainian soldiers.

In addition, according to Russian Armed Forces spokesman Igor Konashenkov, Russian forces destroyed 63 tanks, 48 ​​armored vehicles and four fighter jets.

It is impossible to independently verify the information provided by opposing parties.

Attempts by Ukrainian forces to intensify the attack between Mykolayf and Crevry Ri, as well as in other directions, have failed, according to Mr. Konashenkov.

Since the beginning of the attack, the Ukrainian leadership has not given any information about the course of operations in the southern part of the country. On the other hand, Russian sources acknowledge that Moscow’s troops are facing enormous pressure in some areas.

Zelensky meeting with the leadership of the army

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Wednesday that he had met with the heads of the armed forces, intelligence and police for the second time in a few days.

He said in his speech last night from Kyiv that the army informed him about the developments on the battle fronts. He did not want to go into details.

“I will say only one thing: I want to thank, on behalf of our intelligence service, all our people who strongly support us in the southern part of the country, especially in Crimea,” he noted.

In the first six months of the war, after Russian troops invaded Ukrainian territory on February 24, the head of state rarely referred to his consultations with the country’s military leadership. He spoke of a similar meeting on Sunday. A day later, a Ukrainian counteroffensive began in the south, with the aim of recapturing the Kherson region.

SOURCE: APE-ME