Videos emerged on Friday purporting to show the destruction of a Leopard 2A6 tank as well as several US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles during a failed Ukrainian offensive in Russia’s Zaporozhye Region.
Another video apparently shot by Ukrainian soldiers showed a Leopard 2A4 that had been blown up by a mine during an unsuccessful attempt to break through the front line near the town of Orekhov in Zaporozhye.
On Thursday, Colonel-General Aleksandr Romanchuk, a commander of a Russian unit operating in Zaporozhye Region, reported that Kiev’s forces had lost over 30 tanks during an overnight offensive. Ukrainian losses also reportedly included up to 350 personnel, as well as three Leopard tanks and more than 10 infantry fighting vehicles.
According to Romanchuk, the first losses suffered by the Ukrainian army were during an attempt to cross a minefield. The official claimed that four tanks had been destroyed, as well as a demining machine.
He stated that Russian forces had then opened fire on Ukrainian troops, who chose to abandon their plan to cross the minefield.
On Friday, Russia’s Defense Ministry released its latest battlefield report in which it claimed that Ukraine had lost up to 1,240 troops and 39 tanks in just 24 hours. The losses are in addition to the heavy toll suffered during a week when Kiev is believed to have finally launched its long-anticipated counteroffensive.
The ministry claimed that Ukraine’s armed forces also lost 30 infantry fighting vehicles, 38 armored vehicles, dozens of pieces of artillery and other military hardware, as well as two military jets, two UK-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles, and 13 drones.
Earlier this week, the Russian Defense Ministry also released a black-and-white video that purportedly showed a Ukrainian Leopard tank being hit by a Russian anti-tank missile. That was after the ministry claimed that eight similar tanks as well as three French-made AMX-10 wheeled tanks had been destroyed by Russian forces on Monday.
Kiev has not commented on the reported losses, having repeatedly stated that it would not confirm or deny any information about its casualties.
The commander of the 58th Army of the Southern Military District, Major General Popov, told the details of the night battle in the Zaporozhye direction:
▪️the grouping of Kyiv forces that participated in the attempted offensive in the Zaporozhye direction included the most combat-ready units;
▪️the enemy tried to break through the defenses of the 58th army, in order to then go to the sea;
▪️the highest density of minefields made it possible to stop all four columns of Ukrainian troops;
▪️an important role in the defense was played by special forces, reconnaissance, artillery, aviation, an important role in repelling the attack was played by infantry;
▪️"Hard work ahead of us, everything is just beginning"
Special operation, June 8th. Main:
▪️Shoigu said that Kyiv tried to break through the defenses in the Zaporozhye direction tonight, the enemy was detected in a timely manner, and a preemptive strike was delivered. As a result of a two-hour battle, the enemy lost 30 tanks, 11 infantry fighting vehicles, up to 350 personnel;
▪️On Thursday night, Ukrainian troops tried to break through the defenses of the 58th Army of the Russian Armed Forces in order to then go to the sea, said Army Commander Major General Ivan Popov. "We have hard work ahead of us, everything is just beginning," he said, commenting on the repulse of the offensive in the Zaporozhye direction;
▪️Ukrainian troops lost 945 soldiers and more than 100 units of military equipment in battles over the past day, Shoigu said;
▪️Shoigu at the arsenals and storage bases of the Western Military District checked the preparation of equipment for shipment to the special operation zone. The minister demanded to reduce the time for receiving equipment from enterprises and its delivery to the troops, drew attention to the installation of additional protection for armored vehicles, taking into account the special operation;
▪️Putin discussed by phone with the acting head of the Kherson region Saldo the situation in the region after the sabotage at the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station and instructed the Ministry of Emergency Situations to provide assistance to all affected households in accordance with the norms of the Russian Federation, Peskov said;
▪️Pushilin, in an interview with RIA Novosti, described the situation in the liberated Artemovsk as difficult due to the constant shelling of Ukrainian troops, but controlled;
▪️The Russian heavy flamethrower system "Solntsepek" hit the strongholds of the Ukrainian military near the villages of Kirovo and Druzhba in the Artyomovsk region of the DPR, Astafiev, head of the press center of the "South" group of troops, told RIA Novosti;
▪️Ukrainian troops shelled an evacuation point in Hola Pristan, killing two people, including a pregnant woman, Saldo said;
▪️The death toll during the shelling of Gorlovka by Ukrainian troops increased to 4, another wounded man died in the hospital, the mayor said.
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