Russian forces announce the shelling of artillery positions of the Ukrainian army and suffer heavy losses in Donetsk.
The Russian military operation in Ukraine continues. In the latest field information, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense announced to the agency “Sputnik” that Russian forces, early Monday morning, targeted several sites of the Ukrainian army artillery in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
A Ukrainian military commander said that “Our defenses shot down this morning 15 Russian missiles out of 18,”
Local authorities in the Kyiv region said air defense systems repelled rocket attacks in the early hours of Monday in the region, following warnings from emergency services about air strikes across Ukraine.
A Ukrainian military commander said that “our defenses shot down this morning 15 Russian missiles out of 18,” while Ukrainian officials confirmed that all Russian missiles that tried to target Kyiv were repelled.
It had earlier said there was a threat of missile strikes in the early hours of Monday in the region, following warnings from emergency services of air strikes across Ukraine.
The Kyiv regional administration wrote on the Telegram messaging app: “Threat of missile strike…Stay in shelters.” Andrei Yermak, chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said via Telegram: “Take care of your safety.”
Ukrainian media also reported explosions in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions.
Ukraine said on Sunday its forces were in control of parts of the city of Pakhmut, the focus of a long-running Russian offensive in the east of the country, while the commander of a large pro-Moscow force said his men were making progress in the city.
Russian forces struggling for months to capture Bakhmout continue to make slow progress in the city.
Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hana Malyar said: “Heavy fighting continues in the city of Pakhmut. “The enemy is unable to control the city despite sending all its troops into battle and achieving some success.”
The Ukrainian military does not reveal exactly what area of the city is controlled by the Russians.
Serhiy Chervaty, a spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east of the country, said it was still possible to supply Bakhamut defenders with food, ammunition, and medicine and evacuate the wounded.
Russia’s defense ministry said on Sunday its forces had taken control of four districts west of Bakhmut.
Russia’s private security group Wagner is leading the attack on Bakhmut, and the group’s chairman, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Telegram that his men had advanced up to 230 meters in some directions on Sunday. He said pro-Kyiv units controlled less than three square kilometers.