Ukraine repels more than 80 Russian attacks in one day: armed forces

Ukraine repelled more than 80 Russian attacks in a single day, its army said on Sunday.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote in its Sunday operational update on Facebook that Russia had launched several attacks on key Ukrainian cities, including Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdiiv, Maryinsky and Shakhtar. However, many of those attacks failed, with Ukrainian troops blocking 83 Russian advances on Saturday.

The repelled attacks are the latest indication of the stagnation of the war in Russia since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his “special military operation” against Ukraine last February. Despite initial fears that Ukraine would fall quickly, its troops responded with a stronger than expected defense effort, blunting Russian military gains.

After more than a year of conflict, fighting remains concentrated in the easternmost regions of the Eastern European country. Military analysts pointed to a lack of motivated troops and chain of command issues within Putin’s forces as reasons for his failed invasion.

Ukraine boasted on Sunday that its army has prevented significant numbers of troops from advancing in key areas, including Bakhmut, which has seen some of the most intense fighting of the war.

“Despite the human losses, the Russian Federation continues to wage the war of aggression. The main efforts of the adversary are focused on attempts to completely capture the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In order to achieve its goals, the Offensive actions continue on the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdiiv, Maryinsky and Shakhtar directions. Over the past day, 83 attacks were repelled by our defenders in this area of ​​the front. The epicenter of the fighting remains Bakhmut,” it reads. in the post.

Russia has not confirmed these blocked attacks, and Newsweek was unable to independently verify Ukraine’s claims. Moreover, it was not known exactly how many total offensives were taken by Russian soldiers and how many were successful.

The General Staff further reported that Russia launched 11 missile strikes, four of which targeted civilian infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia, home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. Russia also carried out 16 airstrikes and 99 bombardments from jet fire systems, according to Ukraine.

In addition, Ukraine said it downed 10 “strikes in areas of concentration of occupiers”, including at least one Shahed-136 drone, a weapon supplied to Russia by Iran, one of its strongest allies. loved ones amid the widely condemned invasion.

Ukraine War Updates: Analysts Say Russian Offensives in Bakhmut Have Slowed

Ukraine’s claims come after analysts said Russian offensives in Bakhmut this week had slowed. The two armies engaged in an intense battle for control of the Ukrainian city, which some say would offer Russia a more symbolic than strategic victory. Russia touted its progress in the city amid reports of struggles elsewhere, and it fought alongside the paramilitary unit, the Wagner Group.

Bakhmut was one of the towns where Ukraine claimed to have successfully blocked some Russian advances over the weekend.

The UK Ministry of Defense wrote on Saturday that Russian soldiers had carried out their lowest number of offensives in the city since January, pointing to a temporary depletion of the “combat power of deployed formations to such an extent that even the Local offensive actions are not currently sustainable.”

Newsweek contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.