By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) – Russia on Tuesday claimed that the Ukrainian military launched “long-promised” offensives in various parts of the front line with large amounts of equipment and manpower in the past three days.
“On June 4, the forces of the 23rd and 31st mechanized brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine attempted an offensive in five directions … On June 5, the Kyiv regime attempted an offensive in seven directions with the forces of five brigades. It was stopped,” Russian Defense Мinister Sergey Shoygu said during a briefing in Moscow.
Shoygu said Ukrainian forces were thwarted and Kyiv did not achieve its goals during the offensives, claiming Ukraine suffered “significant and incomparable losses” during offensives.
“In just three days of hostilities in all directions, the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to 3,715 military personnel, 52 tanks, 207 armored combat vehicles, 134 vehicles, five aircraft, two helicopters, 48 field artillery guns, and 53 unmanned aerial vehicles,” Shoygu added.
He further said that 71 Russian servicemen were killed and 210 others were injured.
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Telegram that offensive actions were being taken by the Ukrainian army, with Bakhmut remaining at “the epicenter of hostilities.”
“There we are moving along a fairly wide front. We are successful. We occupy the dominant heights. The enemy is on the defensive,” Maliar claimed.
- Russia claims capture of Berkhivka village
In a later statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces took control of the village of Berkhivka, located a few miles northwest of the city of Bakhmut, a major hotspot in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on the claims made by the Russian side.
Russian forces have been trying for months to capture Bakhmut, a transport and logistics hub in the Donetsk region, a part of the largely Russian-speaking industrialized Donbas region, which last year Russia claimed to have annexed.
On May 20, the Russian Defense Ministry and the Wagner paramilitary group claimed their forces took complete control of the city.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied the claims during a press conference after the Group of Seven summit in Japan last month.