Russia claims to have foiled a major Ukrainian attack in the eastern province of Donetsk, although it is unclear whether this is the start of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
The Russian Defense Ministry, in a rare early morning video on Monday, said its forces on Sunday repelled a five-point “full-scale” Ukrainian assault in Donetsk, one of four Ukrainian regions that Russia has illegally detained. annexed last fall.
The ministry spokesman said the enemy “did not succeed”. He added that 250 Ukrainian personnel were killed and 16 Ukrainian tanks, 3 infantry fighting vehicles and 21 armored fighting vehicles were destroyed.
Ukraine made no comment, waiting as often for the end of its military operations to confirm its actions.
For months, Ukrainian officials have talked about plans to launch a counteroffensive to reclaim territory Russia has occupied since the February 24, 2022 invasion, as well as the Crimean peninsula it seized in 2014. But they gave mixed signals about what would constitute a counteroffensive: limited preliminary attacks to weaken Russian military forces and installations or a full-fledged simultaneous assault on the entire 1,100 kilometer long front line.
The Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said Ukraine used six mechanized battalions and two tanks in the attack.
And in a rare specific mention of the presence of Russia’s top military leaders in battlefield operations, the spokesman said the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Valery Gerasimov, “was at one of the forward command posts.
This could be a response to criticism from some Russian military bloggers and the leader of a mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, that Russian military leaders have not been visible enough at the front or have not taken enough control or of responsibility in their country’s military operations in Ukraine.