Russia says it repelled ‘large scale’ Ukrainian assault in Donetsk, killing hundreds

‘The enemy did not achieve its tasks. It had no success,’ a spokesman for Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a rare early morning video

He said 250 Ukrainian personnel were killed, and dozens of tanks and combat vehicles were destroyed. Ukraine didn’t comment

Reading Time:4 minutes

A Ukrainian soldier fires a mortar at Russian positions on the frontline near Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, last week. Photo: AP

Published: 10:48am, 5 Jun 2023Updated: 1:22pm, 5 Jun 2023

Russia’s Defence Ministry announced early on Monday its forces had thwarted a large Ukrainian attack in the eastern province of Donetsk, though it’s unclear if this was the start of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

The ministry, in a rare early morning video, said its forces pushed back a “large scale” Ukrainian assault on Sunday at five points in southern Donetsk, one of four Ukrainian regions Russia illegally annexed last autumn.

“The enemy’s goal was to break through our defences in the most vulnerable, in its opinion, sector of the front,” said the ministry’s spokesman, Igor Konashenkov. “The enemy did not achieve its tasks. It had no success.”

Konashenkov said 250 Ukrainian personnel were killed, and 16 Ukrainian tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles and 21 armoured combat vehicles were destroyed.

An aerial view shows destruction in the frontline town of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, last month. Photo: Press Service of the 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters

Ukraine didn’t comment, and often waits until the completion of its military operations to confirm its actions, imposing news blackouts in the interim. It was unclear why the Russian Defence Ministry waited until Monday morning to announce the attack, which it said started on Sunday morning.