Ukraine has lost hundreds of troops in a series of unsuccessful attacks on two sections of the front line in the last 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Friday.
In a statement, the ministry said Kiev’s forces had gone on the offensive in two directions, with battles taking place near the so-called Vremevsky ledge in the southern section of the front, and west of the Russian city of Donetsk.
In the first area, the most intense fighting took place near the settlements of Rovnopol and Urozhaynoye, with Russian troops repelling five Ukrainian attacks. As a result, Kiev lost more than 200 service members, five tanks, seven armored personnel vehicles, and other hardware, according to officials in Moscow.
Russian troops repelled another five attacks near the settlements of Pervomayskoye, Petrovskoye and Staromichailovka, all located west and north-west of Donetsk, the ministry added. It estimated Ukrainian losses in the area at up to 215 service members, three armored and five other vehicles, as well as two artillery pieces.
Ukraine launched a large-scale counteroffensive on June 4, after the West and Kiev had talked up the operation for several months. According to Moscow, the attacks have thus far failed to gain any ground and have resulted in considerable losses for Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed Kiev’s forces are “taking heavy casualties” which outnumber Russia’s by a factor of ten.
Commenting on the counteroffensive, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky admitted on Thursday that Russian troops were putting up “very tough resistance.” His remarks tallied with an earlier CNN report, which cited two senior US officials as saying that Ukraine has encountered heavier pushback than expected from Moscow’s forces.
10,000+ Russian troops paid bonuses for destroying enemy hardware – MOD
More than 10,000 Russian troops have received bonuses for destroying or capturing major enemy weapon systems during the military operation against Ukraine, the Defense Ministry has revealed.
Russian soldiers have been paid between 50,000 and 300,000 rubles ($600 and $3,600) for personally taking out a tank, an artillery gun, a fighter jet, or other piece of military equipment, according to the statistics.
In 2022, 7,064 servicemen merited such remuneration for destroying a total of 11,586 pieces of Ukrainian military equipment. In the first five months of this year, the figures were 3,193 and 4,415, respectively, the ministry said.
The biggest payoffs went to airmen and air defense operators for shooting down enemy jets and helicopters, and to soldiers for destroying Tochka-U and HIMARS rocket launchers. Ukrainian naval drones, which have been used for attacks on Crimea, were valued by the military leadership at $2,400 apiece.
Half of that amount was paid out “for destroying each of the many hundreds of armor” belonging to Ukrainian forces, the statement said. The smallest bonuses were awarded for intercepting enemy rockets and some drones, as well as for taking out armored vehicles and artillery pieces.
The ministry is reviewing reports from the battlefield to decide on bonuses for destroying Leopard tanks and other NATO-produced hardware, it said. Kiev’s foreign backers have supplied dozens of pieces of such equipment in an attempt to strengthen Ukraine’s army ahead of its long-promised counteroffensive, which is now underway.
Some private Russian citizens have also offered bounties to frontline troops. In one recent example, entertainer Grigory Leps said he and several other like-minded people were pooling resources to pay out 1 million rubles ($13,000) for each Western tank destroyed by Russian soldiers.
WATCH: Russian Troops Make Ukraine's 'Superior Forces' Run For Their Lives
During the ongoing Kiev counteroffensive, the Russian Army has been crushing the enemy on land and in the air.
Russia's Defense Ministry has published footage showing a group of Russian servicemen forcing the superior forces of Ukrainian troops to flee in the direction of Avdeevka.
"The fighting spirit of the enemy is very weak at the moment. The enemy flees when there is serious fighting and does not really cling to its positions. They leave their fortifications and run away," an officer of the Yug Russian military group said.
According to the officer, during one of the attacks, an enemy squad ran away from his group twice.
Kiev Loses Over 400 Military in 2 Directions Over Past Day - Russian MoD
Ukraine has lost more than 400 military in the South Donetsk and Donetsk directions over the past day as a result of unsuccessful offensive attempts, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.
"More than 200 Ukrainian military, five tanks, seven infantry fighting vehicles, five armored fighting vehicles, four vehicles, and two mortar batteries were destroyed [in the South Donetsk direction] over the past day," the ministry said.
In the Donetsk direction, Russian troops repulsed five enemy attacks, the ministry said.
"During the fighting, up to 215 Ukrainian military, three armored combat vehicles, five vehicles, and two D-20 howitzers were destroyed," the statement read.
Over the past day, Ukrainian troops continued to suffer significant losses in the course of unsuccessful attempts to conduct offensive operations in these areas, the ministry said in a statement, adding that near the Vremevka ledge, Russia repelled five attacks.
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