Ukrainian forces have been heavily bombed around the River Dnipr in southern Ukraine and killed up to 75 Ukrainian soldiers, the Russian military has said.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield claim.
Kyiv’s military said on Friday that Ukrainian troops had pushed Russian soldiers out of positions on the eastern bank of the River Dnipro in parts of Kherson region and established several bridgeheads.
Moscow on Wednesday conceded for the first time that some Ukrainian forces had crossed on to the River Dnipro’s eastern bank, but has said they faced “hellfire”.
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Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement on Saturday that artillery and air strikes had targeted Ukrainian forces in the settlement of Kachkarivka, on the West Bank of the River Dnipro, and on two islands, killing up to 75 enemy soldiers and destroying four vehicles.
[ Ukraine claims significant advance in counteroffensive against RussiaOpens in new window ]
Russia launched a big drone attack on Ukraine overnight, hitting infrastructure facilities in the south and north of the country, the Ukrainian military said.
Ukraine air defence shot down 29 out of 38 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched from Russian territory, the air force said. The air force said in a statement the attack on many Ukrainian regions lasted from 8pm on Friday to 4am on Saturday.
The South military command said an energy infrastructure facility was hit in the southern Odesa region.
An administrative building was also damaged and one civilian was wounded in the strike, it said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. In Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region on the border with Russia and Belarus, two infrastructure buildings were damaged during the overnight strike, the military said.
The drones also targeted Kyiv in the second attack so far this month, officials said, adding that all drones heading to the capital were shot down on the approach. – Reuters
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