Russia: “600 Ukrainian soldiers killed amid heavy losses”

The Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday announced that Ukraine’s losses over the past 24 hours amounted to 600 servicemen, with heavy losses recorded among military equipment, from tanks to artillery, during an operation on the frontline.

“Up to 115 Ukrainian servicemen, two armored combat vehicles, four vehicles, two M-777 artillery systems, and a US-made M-119 gun, as well as two howitzers: Msta-B and D-20, were destroyed in a day,” Moscow’s defense ministry said.

Footage published by the Russian defense ministry showed Ukrainian armed positions being targeted in Zaporizhzhia using FAB-500 M62 glide bombs.

Donetsk and Kherson losses

The Russian Armed Forces launched a series of attacks on Ukrainian military positions in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Kherson region, and the Kharkov region.

Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the attacks in a statement released on Saturday, marking a concerning development in the ongoing tensions between the two neighboring nations.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said the attacks primarily targeted command and observation posts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, communication centers, ammunition warehouses, and military personnel.

In the Donetsk People’s Republic, two command and observation posts belonging to units of the 28th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were hit in the area of Dyleevka. Additionally, a communication center of the 110th mechanized brigade was reportedly destroyed in the vicinity of Avdeevka, further intensifying the conflict in the region.

The Russian military also reported the destruction of a field ammunition warehouse of the 106th Territorial Defense Brigade in the Kherson region, near the village of Tyaginka. In a coordinated effort, an unmanned aerial vehicle command post near the village of Otradokamenka in the same region was hit, causing further damage to Ukrainian military infrastructure.

The Kherson direction also saw more than 30 Ukrainian soldiers killed and two vehicles, as well as a D-30 howitzer destroyed, Moscow revealed.

Kupyansk and Krasny Liman

The Russian Armed Forces also engaged in combat with the armored brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kislovka area of the Kharkov region, specifically targeting Ukrainian military assets in the Kupyansk direction.

The clashes extended to the Krasny Liman direction, where the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have repelled two attacks by assault groups of the 5th brigade of the National Guard and the 67th mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

These incidents involved coordinated actions of units of the Center group of troops, army aviation strikes, artillery fire, and the use of heavy flamethrower systems. Tragically, up to 60 Ukrainian servicemen were reportedly lost in the confrontations in this region.

Ukraine’s losses in the Kupsyansk direction included 40 servicemen, three armored combat vehicles, and two M-777 howitzers, as well as a D-20 howitzer.

Russia’s defense ministry showed footage of the destruction of a CAESAR self-propelled howitzer mounted atop a Tatra T815, which was recently delivered to Ukraine’s forces from Denmark.

Moscow also published scenes of the Tornado-S missile system team, affiliated with the Russian Western theatre forces, targeting the rear mechanized reserves and the positions of the Ukrainian forces on the Svatovsk front.

Footage showed the use of 300 mm 9M55F/K1-5 guided missiles, equipped with cluster munition shells with a range of up to 70 kilometers.

This system is considered an alternative or counterpart to the US’ HIMARS, it is distinguished by its speed of preparation and operation, its maneuverability, and its accurate, multi-use, and large-capacity ammunition.

This system has additional alternatives to ammunition, most notably the improved versions 9M525/530/532, with a range of up to 90 kilometers, and the Smerch munition. Russia is also using long-range guided missiles 9M544/549 to carry out long-range precision strikes, as they sport a range of up to 120 kilometers.