“Today (Thursday) at 01:30 (19:30 Wednesday GMT) in the morning in the Zaporizhzhia area, the enemy tried to break through our defense with (…) up to 1.500 men and 150 armored vehicles,” Shoigu said in a statement. “The enemy has been blocked and is retreating with serious losses,” he added.
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“The enemy forces specially formed to carry out this advance did not fulfill their mission”, he congratulated himself. According to the minister, after a two-hour battle, Ukrainian forces lost 30 tanks, 11 infantry fighting vehicles and up to 350 men. This information could not be verified with an independent source. At the moment, Ukrainian authorities have not officially reported these attacks.
Kiev has said for months that it is preparing a major counteroffensive against Russian forces to retake Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow, including the Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014.
According to observers, the intensification of Kiev's “offensive operations” on the front line in recent weeks are the first signs of this operation.
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