Kiev’s forces have failed in their attacks in southern part of the country, Sergey Shoigu claimed
FILE PHOTO: A destroyed tank is seen in the arch of a residential building destroyed by missile strikes in Severodonetsk, Luhansk People’s Republic. © Sputnik / Viktor Antonyuk
Russia has thwarted all of Ukraine’s attempts to mount an offensive in the south of the country, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Wednesday, adding that Moscow has inflicted heavy losses of Kiev’s troops in recent weeks.
“All attempts of the Ukrainian armed forces to launch an offensive in the direction of Nikolaev and Krivoy Rog have been stopped,” he noted.
The minister also revealed Ukraine’s recent military casualties, claiming that within the last three weeks Kiev had lost in total more than 7,000 service members killed and 970 weapon units neutralized, including 208 tanks, 245 APCs and 186 other armored military vehicles, as well as 15 military planes.
Shoigu went on to say that Moscow had transferred troops from the areas near the towns of Izium and Balakleya in Kharkov Region, northeastern Ukraine, “to strengthen the striking capabilities of the Russian military in the Donbass.”
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Moscow provides details on partial mobilization
On Wednesday, Shoigu announced that Russia would call on 300,000 reservists as part of a partial nationwide mobilization, adding that the newly arrived troops would be used to defend the line of contact between Moscow and Ukraine’s forces, which is almost 1,000 kilometers long.
On the same day, Shoigu also updated Russia’s total losses in Ukraine, putting them at 5,937 dead. Meanwhile, he estimated fatalities on the Ukrainian side as ten times higher, with 61,207 of Kiev’s troops killed.
