The Russian Ministry of Defense announced today, Friday, that its forces repelled escalating Ukrainian attacks on their positions in eastern Ukraine, noting that they withdrew in one area for military planning reasons. The ministry stated in a report that Ukraine deployed over a thousand soldiers and up to 40 tanks in 26 attack attempts along a front line extending over 95 kilometers, highlighting that the attacks occurred towards the town of Soledar, which is under Russian control.
The statement added, "We repelled all attacks from Ukrainian army units... We did not allow any breaches of the defensive lines of Russian forces."
Regarding yesterday, the Russian MoD reported 26 Ukrainian attacks over a stretch of 95 km around Bakhmut involving roughly 1,000 soldiers and up to 40 tanks, in addition to other vehicles. As a result, Ukraine suffered 540 casualties (injured and killed) and lost 8 tanks and 20 other vehicles.
On the other hand, the head of the private Russian military group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, stated that what the Ministry of Defense referred to was, in fact, a "defeat." Prigozhin repeatedly accused senior officials of sabotaging his forces' pressure in Bakhmut and of negligence in protecting the perimeter of Bakhmut, which allowed Ukrainian forces to regain part of the city.
