Russia says it has repulsed major Ukrainian offensive in Donetsk
Russia says it has repulsed a “major offensive” by Ukrainian troops in southern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. This was reported by the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow. 250 Ukrainian soldiers are said to have been killed.
According to Russia, six battalions of armored infantry and two battalions of tanks were involved in the offensive. Reports from the Russian Defense Ministry cannot yet be independently verified, it is not clear whether this is the beginning of the long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive.
According to the Russian TASS news agency, Ukrainian troops attacked on five sectors of the front. TASS quotes the official spokesman of the Russian Defense Ministry’s lieutenant general Igor Konashenkov.
Russian Navy exercises in the Sea of Japan
Russia has launched major naval exercises in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan that will last until June 20, the Russian defense ministry said.
Responsible for the maneuvers is the Russian Pacific Fleet, which is based around Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the country’s east coast. “More than 60 warships and support vessels, around 35 aircraft and more than 11,000 servicemen are involved in the exercise,” the ministry said on messaging app Telegram.
Russia, which invaded neighboring Ukraine in February last year, held naval exercises with China and South Africa earlier this year. Both countries have not condemned the war and are not taking sides.
dhis live blog is based on reports from our correspondents and editors from BNR, The Guardian, ANP, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, BBC, CNBC and Agence France-Presse. BNR also uses online reports from news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti (Russia) and Belta (Belarus). Since the reporting of these agencies is not verifiable and cannot be qualified as independent, in these cases the origin of the report is explicitly stated.