2023-06-18 17:00:39
LONDON (Archyde.com) – Russia and Ukraine are suffering massive troop casualties, British officials said on Sunday, as Kiev seeks to expel Moscow’s forces from occupied regions in the early stages of its counter-offensive.
British military officials have made it clear in their regular assessment that Russian casualties may be at their highest levels since the height of the Battle of Bakhmut last March.
According to British intelligence, the fiercest fighting was centered in Zaporizhia Province in southeastern Ukraine, around Pakhmut, and to the west in Donetsk Province in eastern Ukraine.
While the statement stated that Ukraine was on the offensive in these areas and had “made little progress,” noting that Russian forces had carried out “relatively effective defensive operations” in southern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military said in a statement on Sunday morning that Russia had carried out 43 air strikes, 4 missile strikes and 51 attacks from missile launchers during the past 24 hours.
According to the General Staff statement, Russia continued to focus its efforts on offensive operations in Ukraine’s industrial east, with an emphasis on attacks around Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Marinka and Lyman in Donetsk Province, where 26 clashes took place.
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Pavlo Kirilenko, governor of the Donetsk region, said two civilians were killed and three others wounded on Saturday.
Ukrainian officials stated that Russian forces also launched air strikes in other areas in the east and south of the country.
Western analysts and military officials have warned that the Ukrainian counter-attack to expel Russian forces from occupied areas, using advanced weapons provided by the West in attacks along the 1,000-kilometer front line, may continue for a long time.
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