The Russian Ministry of Defense said that its forces had killed more than 250 Ukrainian troops in what it described as a push by Kyiv in the Donetsk region.
Moscow has said its forces have killed hundreds of Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk region after repelling a «major offensive» in that part of Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defense [MOD] said in a Telegram post on Sunday that Ukraine had launched «a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the front in the south Donetsk region.»
Former British Army intelligence officer Philip Ingram said the first phase of Ukraine’s counteroffensive had started a few weeks ago. In it, Kyiv prepared the battlespace and attacked Russia’s logistic nodes, command posts and air defense.
«This is the reconnaissance phase,» he said. «When Ukrainian plans around the optimal locations for the main attacks have been confirmed, then it will move to the next phase.»
Sunday’s statement from Russia’s MOD said: «The enemy’s goal was to break through Russia’s defenses in what it considered to be the most vulnerable area of the front.
