Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said his troops on Thursday countered a Ukrainian offensive in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, as Kiev says it is ready to launch an assault to recapture Moscow-held territory.
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Today at 01:30 (00:30 Paris time) in the morning in the Zaporizhzhya area, the enemy tried to break through our defenses with (...) up to 1500 men and 150 armored vehicles," Shoigu said in a statement.
Great counter-offensive
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The enemy is stopped and retreats with heavy losses," he added. "The enemy forces specially trained for the implementation of this breakthrough have not fulfilled their task." According to Sergei Shoigu, "following a two-hour battle, the enemy lost 30 tanks, 11 infantry fighting vehicles and up to 350 men," claims however unverifiable by independent sources.
There was no official mention of these events immediately by Ukrainian authorities. Kiev has for months said it was preparing a major counter-offensive against Russian forces aimed at retaking Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow, including Crimea, a peninsula annexed in 2014.
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Observers believe that the intensification of "offensive operations" carried out by Kiev along the front line in recent weeks are the first signs of this long-awaited assault. In a video released last Sunday, the Ukrainian military appeared to call on soldiers to remain silent, and said there would be no announcement about the start of this offensive for which the Russian military has also prepared to hold its positions.
