Moscow announces it has repelled a “large-scale offensive” in Donbass

Russia said on Monday that a push had been made “Mass Attack” The Ukrainian military in Donbass, without Kyiv, has announced for months that it is preparing a major counteroffensive and immediately confirms that it has carried out this operation.

“On the morning of June 4, the enemy launched a full-scale attack on five divisions of the front in the southern direction of the Donetsk region”The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, without specifying the exact location of the battle. “The enemy has not reached his goal, he has not succeeded”He added, with a video showing aerial footage of Ukrainian armored vehicles being destroyed by Russian forces.

According to the ministry, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, General Valery Gerasimov, “At this period was one of the forward command posts in this direction”.

General Gerasimov was appointed in January “Commander of the Combined Forces Group” Deployed in Ukraine, the paramilitary group Wagner is a constant target of criticism or insults from Yevgeny Prigozhin. The latter, along with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, accused him of being responsible “tens of thousands” Russian fighters killed or wounded in Ukraine, especially by looting ammunition.

According to the Russian ministry, the Ukrainian army carried out the attack with six mechanized battalions and two tank battalions.

Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on the events. Kyiv has been saying for months that it is preparing a major counteroffensive against Russian forces. In a video released on Sunday, the Ukrainian military appeared to call on soldiers to remain calm and said there would be no announcement of the start of the long-awaited offensive.