Russia claims to have foiled Ukraine’s attack in Donetsk

Russia’s military has claimed to have repelled a massive Ukrainian offensive in the Donetsk region, although it is unclear whether the push marks the start of a long-awaited counteroffensive. Kiev dismissed the claims as Kremlin disinformation.

Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a video released Monday morning that Ukraine had used six mechanized and two tank battalions in an attack the day before.

He said the Ukrainians had attacked five points in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region in the east of the country on Sunday.

Konashenkov said, “The enemy’s goal was to break through what was seen as the weakest section of the front.” “The enemy did not achieve its goals or achieve success.”

He claimed that the Russian army killed 250 Ukrainian soldiers.

Kiev has been planning a retaliatory offensive to win back territory from Russian occupation for several months, backed by supplies of advanced Western weaponry such as Storm Shadow long-range missiles.

Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, a government agency, described the Russian claims as a false “informational and psychological operation” aimed at “demoralizing the Ukrainian people”.

Conflicting military claims by Russia and Ukraine could not be independently verified.

Kiev has insisted it will not announce any major operations in advance, and has urged caution about reporting retaliatory strikes from the front.

A Ukrainian military social media video posted this weekend shows soldiers holding their fingers to their lips, urging “silence” about military operations.

On the Russian side, Alexander Khodakovsky, commander of a Kremlin-backed volunteer battalion based in the Donetsk region, said Ukraine attempted a breakthrough and captured a position, but “suffered significant losses” on Sunday.

He added that the attack “in itself was not the promised counter-offensive” but predicted that Ukraine could send more units to the attack if the push was successful.

Russia’s Defense Ministry has often made exaggerated claims of its success.

Its PR-conscious armed forces have come under particular fire in recent weeks after Ukraine-backed forces exposed vulnerable Russian defenses along the front line in the Belgorod region.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the notorious paramilitary group Wagner, has also escalated a months-long public dispute with the leadership of the Russian Defense Ministry.

The Defense Ministry said that Valery Gerasimov, the main commander of the invasion, who had been one of the main targets of Prigozhin’s wrath, was “one of the command points of the front line” during the battle.