Ukraine has not provided information about the possible operation, and the Kremlin’s claim has not been confirmed by independent sources.
Russia says it has repelled Ukraine’s large-scale attack in the Donetsk region.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced overnight that the country’s army had succeeded in preventing a large-scale offensive by Ukrainian forces in Donetsk, southern Ukraine.
Spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov said that Ukraine had launched a large-scale offensive on Sunday in five blocks in the southern Donetsk region. According to him, two armored and six mechanized battalions participated in it.
According to Russia, its forces would have repelled the Ukrainian counterattack. Konashenkov listed that Ukraine lost more than 250 soldiers and 16 tanks and other armored equipment.
In connection with the spokesman’s appearance, Russian television showed a blurry picture, which was claimed to be a picture of the battlefield taken from a drone.
The allegation of a counterattack has not been confirmed
Russia’s announcement of Ukraine’s counterattack or its repulsion could not be confirmed. On Sunday, the Ukrainian General Staff published a tweet that tells about radio silence over any possible counterattack.
According to bloggers commenting on the Russian war, the fighting is going on in the areas of Bahmut, Soledar and Vuhledar.
The start of a large-scale Ukrainian counteroffensive has been expected since spring. President of the United States Joe Biden security policy advisor Jake Sullivan told CNN that he believed Ukraine would achieve success by counterattacking.
According to Sullivan, future events in the frontline situation will have a big impact on possible negotiations.
However, Ukraine has remained silent about its plans. Its ground forces commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said, according to the Reuters news agency, that Ukrainian forces continue to advance near the town of Bahmut.
Drone strike and hostages in Belgorod
On the Russian side, the tense situation in the Belgorod region continues.
The governor of the region Vyacheslav Gladkov announced the night before Monday that a drone strike had set the energy plant on fire.
Pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters who previously invaded the Russian side announced on Sunday that they intend to hand over the Russian army soldiers they captured in the Belgorod region to the Ukrainian authorities.
The parties were previously reported to have tried to agree on a meeting regarding the detainees. Gladkov said in a video message on the Telegram messaging service that he plans to discuss the situation of “our own sons”.
At the same time, he claimed that Russian forces are fighting against what he calls a “saboteur group” in Novaya Tavolžanka.
Artillery strikes on the Ukrainian side have increased
Clashes in Russia’s Belgorod region accelerate the war on the Ukrainian side of the border as well.
The village of Vovtshansk was hit by a Russian artillery concentration, killing two civilians. An eyewitness interviewed by the news agency Reuters Valentyna Skubak says that two women from neighboring houses were talking to each other on the village road when a grenade hit them and killed them.
Another villager, Oleksandr Liahin according to the projectile hit Proletarska Street. He said that since the Belgorod clashes began, Russian strikes across the border have increased tenfold.
He also said that he had seen Russian volunteer fighters who had commented on their success in Belgorod by giving a thumbs up.
– Sbekino on the Russian side is on fire, and on our side it is burning. It doesn’t make me happy, said Oleksandr Liah.