Ukraine Army Launched 27 Attacks On Russian Soldiers, Weapon Concentrations In One Day
KEY POINTS
- The Ukrainian Air Force launched 18 air strikes on Russian targets Monday
- Ukraine's missile and artillery troops also launched nine attacks on the same day
- Russia lost 710 military personnel in the conflict between Monday and Tuesday, data showed
Ukraine carried out 27 attacks against Russian targets in a single day, the Ukrainian military said, amid reports of intensified Russian assaults in Ukraine's east.
The Ukrainian Air Force launched 14 air strikes on concentrations of Russian army personnel, weapons and military equipment Monday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement.
Ukraine's Air Force allegedly carried out four air strikes on anti-aircraft missile system positions on the same day as well.
Additionally, Ukrainian forces also attacked five Russian manpower and military equipment concentrations, two command posts and two missile and artillery positions.
Ukraine's military did not disclose whether or not the strikes resulted in any Russian casualties, but Ukrainian data showed that Russia lost 710 military personnel between Monday and Tuesday.
Russia has suffered a total of 112,470 casualties since it started its invasion of Ukraine in late February last year, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed in its most recent casualty report released Tuesday.
In a report from the previous day, the military staff claimed Russian losses at the time numbered 111,760.
Russian losses also included 3,084 tanks, 6,154 armored fighting vehicles and 2,073 artillery systems, among other pieces of military equipment, according to the updated figures.
Reports of Russia's growing casualties come as Russian soldiers and fighters from the Wagner Group paramilitary organization escalated their assaults on two settlements located in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk province.
Russian advances on the Ukrainian city of Soledar have resulted in its near-complete capture, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense said Tuesday, according to a report by Al Jazeera.
Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar claimed that "heavy fighting" in the settlement was still ongoing.
Russian media, citing a statement attributed to Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin, reported that Ukrainian forces in Soledar have already been encircled in the city center, according to the BBC.
None of the claims could be independently verified.
Russian forces also intensified their assault on defensive positions around the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, officials said.
Bakhmut, which was mentioned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his address to the United States Congress in December last year, has become a symbol of Ukraine's defiance against Russian aggression, NBC News reported.
Russian forces would be able to advance to the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk should Bakhmut fall.
Prigozhin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was also eyeing Bakhmut for its salt and gypsum mines, a U.S. official claimed last week.
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