Ukraine-Russia war continues, as Russia claimed to have defeated a ‘major Ukrainian onslaught’ in Donetsk.
According to the Russian defense ministry, 250 Ukrainian troops were killed in the attack, which could not be independently verified.
Russia claims to have repelled a “major offensive” in the Donetsk region and to have killed hundreds of Ukraine forces, although these allegations have yet to be independently verified.
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Ukraine officials have made no comment, but have recently emphasized the importance of operational secrecy as anticipation increases for a strong counter offensive. Ukraine military officers projected that any such counteroffensive would be preceded and accompanied by feints and diversionary operations in order to “shape the battlefield” and generate as much confusion in Russian ranks as possible.
According to Moscow’s defense ministry, Ukraine launched an attack with six mechanized battalions and two tank battalions were formed.
“On the morning of June 4, the enemy launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the front in the South Donetsk direction,” the ministry stated in a statement sent at 1.30 a.m. Moscow time on the Telegram messaging app.
“The enemy’s goal was to breach our defenses in the most vulnerable sector of the front,” it said. “The enemy failed to complete its tasks; it had no success.”
According to the government, 250 Ukrainian servicemen were killed, while 16 tanks, three infantry combat vehicles, and 21 armored personnel carriers were destroyed.
Videos released online showed what seemed to be Ukraine armored vehicles exploding in fields near Velyka Novosilka, 60 miles west of Donetsk City.
However, it was impossible to identify when the recordings were taken and what the outcome of the combat was.
For months, Ukrainian leaders have spoken of intentions to launch a counteroffensive to regain land captured by Russia since its invasion on February 24, last year, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia took in 2014.
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However, there have been mixed indications about what constitutes a counteroffensive – preliminary, limited operations to degrade Russian forces and military facilities, or a full-fledged simultaneous assault across the entire 685-mile front line.
It comes after months of fighting in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which had become the war’s longest and bloodiest struggle. Officials in Ukraine have frequently discouraged public speculation on the counteroffensive.
The Ukraine general staff’s daily briefing on Sunday included no mention of a significant offensive in Donetsk, but it did note 29 clashes in the Donetsk and Luhansk areas, as well as 15 airstrikes against enemy troops across the country.
According to the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, “Ukraine forces conducted local ground attacks and reportedly made limited tactical gains in western Donetsk oblast and eastern Zaporizhzhia oblast.”
The enemy failed to complete its objectives. It was a failure.’
According to Konashenkov, 250 Ukrainian soldiers were killed, and 16 Ukrainian tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles, and 21 armored combat vehicles were destroyed.
It occurred after Kyiv asked for stillness yesterday in the run-up to the long-awaited counteroffensive, releasing a sleek video in which heavily-armed soldiers place their fingers to their lips amid the distant roar of artillery and gunshots.
The movie concluded with footage of soaring F-16 fighter jets, which Kiev has long desired as it strives to strengthen its air defense against Russian missiles and drones.
Yesterday, TV signals in Putin’s annexed Crimea were hacked in order to broadcast the clip.
‘The transmissions of a number of Crimean cable channels,’ claimed Oleg Kryuchkov, an official in the Moscow-appointed authority in Crimea.
