Many of the Ukrainians who have swelled the ranks of the army following the invasion have received training in a forest previously occupied by Russian soldiers
Many of the Ukrainians who have swelled the ranks of the army following the invasion have received training in a forest previously occupied by Russian soldiers AFP / Sergei SUPINSKY

KEY POINTS

  • The Russian army failed to carry out combat reconnaissance in South Buh
  • Russians also suffered massive losses in the Kharkiv direction
  • Ukraine says at least 150 Russian soldiers died Thursday 

The Russian army failed to advance and forced to retreat in six directions in Ukraine after it was met with a counteroffensive by Ukrainian troops Thursday, according to a report.

Russian soldiers attempted to carry out combat reconnaissance in the area of the settlement of Blahodatne in the South Buh direction. However, a counteroffensive operation by the Ukrainian army forced the Russians to withdraw from their positions with losses, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF) wrote in a report.

"[The Russians] tried to carry out combat reconnaissance in the area of ​​the settlement of Blahodatne, suffered losses and withdrew. The enemy's attempted offensive in the Tavriysky district was choked under the fire of our soldiers and the invaders retreated," stated the UAF report.

In the Kharkiv direction, the Russian army suffered massive losses after attempting an offensive near the village of Petrivka. Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) later forced the Russians to pull back.

The Russian army also attempted to attack Ukrainian defense forces in the Slovyansk direction, particularly near Dolyna and Dmytrivka. The attempt, however, failed, causing the Russians to retreat.

In the Kramatorsk direction, the Russian army attacked the areas of Spirne, Zvanivka, Siversk and Pryshyb. However, it failed to improve its position near Stariy Karavan due to fierce Ukrainian defense, the report said.

The Russians also tried to advance near Kodema and Bakhmutsky in the Bakhmut direction. However, they failed to improve their positions and suffered losses in the Bakhmut direction.

Lastly, in the Avdiyivka direction, the Ukrainian forces' successful defenses repulsed an offensive from the Russian army and forced the latter to pull back from its position in the area of the Pervomaiske settlement.

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According to estimates by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, at least 150 Russian soldiers died on the battlefield Thursday, putting Moscow's overall military death toll to 45,850 since the beginning of the war. The Russian military also lost 5 tanks, 2 combat armored machines and 9 UAVs. Overall, Russia has lost a total of $16 billion worth of military equipment over the course of six months.

Wednesday marked Ukraine's independence day, and six month since Russia invaded