The Russian army on Monday said it had thwarted Ukrainian offensives in the southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv and inflicted “heavy losses” on Kyiv’s forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered his troops to launch attacks in three directions, but “this latest attempt at offensive operations by the enemy has miserably failed,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.
It added that the Russian army had destroyed 26 tanks, 32 armored vehicles, and two Su-25 jets and that the Ukrainians had lost more than 560 soldiers.
AFP was unable to independently verify the claims.
Earlier Monday, local authorities in Ukraine said Kyiv had launched a counter-offensive in the south to repulse Russian troops across the Dnipro River and retake the occupied city of Kherson.