A video showing losses suffered by Ukrainian troops in their unsuccessful attack in the south of the Donetsk People’s Republic has been released by the Russian Defense Ministry (MOD). It shows Ukrainian heavy equipment, mostly supplied by Kiev’s Western backers, being destroyed by Russian strikes during the clashes on Sunday.
The footage published by the MOD on its Telegram channel shows six Ukrainian vehicles moving through open terrain. Five of them appear to be Western-supplied Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, with the sixth resembling an armored personnel carrier or an armored fighting vehicle.
Three of the MRAPs are then shown being destroyed by Russian strikes, with one of them engulfed in plumes of gray smoke. The video also shows four more examples of heavy equipment being taken out while apparently moving along a country road.
The presentation ends with several views of Ukrainian armored vehicles and at least one tank being hit by Russian projectiles. The exact quantity of destroyed Ukrainian equipment remains unclear.
Earlier, the Defense Ministry said that a large-scale Ukrainian offensive attempt in the southern part of the Donetsk People’s Republic had been successfully repelled by Russian forces on Sunday. Ukraine fielded six mechanized and two tank battalions for the operation, the MOD stated.
The ministry reported that Kiev’s forces lost up to 300 service members, 16 tanks, 26 armored and 14 ordinary vehicles over the last 24 hours. Later, a spokesman for the Russian ‘East’ troop grouping said in a video statement that one Ukrainian mechanized brigade alone lost over 250 soldiers, 16 tanks and 24 armored vehicles, including three US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, during the botched assault.
On Monday, Ukrainian forces continued their attacks in the south of the Donetsk People’s Republic and sent three fresh battalion tactical groups supported by tanks into action, the spokesman said, adding that the Ukrainian forces’ advance attempt had been thwarted.
Kiev admitted on Monday that its troops had launched an offensive “on certain fronts.” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister, Anna Maliar, downplayed the situation “in the south” as “local fighting.” She also claimed that the military had launched a major operation targeting the key Donbass city of Artyomovsk, known as Bakhmut in Ukraine.
Artyomovsk was captured by the Wagner private military company founded by Russian businessman Evgeny Prigozhin in late May 2023. Since then, Ukrainian forces have attempted to attack the flanks of the Russian forces holding the city. On Monday, the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, described the situation in the area as “difficult” but still “under control.”
The Russian Defense Ministry has not reported on any major Ukrainian offensives in the Artyomovsk area.