Ukrainian forces strike Russians hard, inflicting heavy losses of troops, equipment

Ukrainian forces launched several attacks on Russian forces, inflicting heavy losses in personnel and equipment over the past 24 hours amid fierce fighting across multiple fronts, the Ukraine armed forces’ general staff said on Monday.

The general staff reported that Ukrainian rocket and artillery units successfully targeted 14 Russian artillery units, and three anti-aircraft missile systems, state news agency Ukrinform reported.

Over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces “hit three command posts, six enemy personnel and military equipment clusters, two ammunition depots, a fuel depot, 14 artillery units in firing positions, three anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as two other important objects of the Russian troops,” the general staff said.

Additionally, Ukrainian aircraft carried out 15 strikes on Russian personnel clusters, and Ukrainian forces eliminated 630 Russian personnel over the past 24 hours.

Throughout the day, both Ukrainian and Russian forces reported intense clashes amid Kyiv’s push forward towards Russian-controlled areas as part of its counter-offensive to regain Russian-occupied territories.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported earlier that the battles on the eastern front were especially “difficult,” as Russia’s forces were massing large numbers of troops on that front in an attempt to reclaim the initiative.

Additionally, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) destroyed a Russian Murom-M surveillance system, six armored vehicles, a mortar squad, and 16 enemy soldiers. The Russians had installed the surveillance system near the contact line to monitor Ukrainian military movements. Furthermore, the SBU reported the destruction of four enemy BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, two multi-purpose tracked armored fighting vehicles, and a mortar squad.

On the other hand, the Russians launched air and missile attacks on Ukraine, deploying four Kalibr cruise missiles and four Iranian-made Shahed-136/131 attack drones. However, the Ukrainian air defense forces intercepted and neutralized all eight aerial threats. Nonetheless, Russians intensified their assaults by launching 32 air strikes and approximately 40 multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) attacks on Ukrainian troops and populated areas, resulting in civilian casualties.

The Ukrainian general staff reported that Russian forces remained focused on the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Marinka directions, where heavy fighting persisted. However, the Russians carried out “unsuccessful” offensives in the Lyman, Bakhmut, and Avdiivka directions. “Heavy fighting continues. In the past day, 39 combat engagements were recorded.”

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