Shoigu announced the repulsed offensive, Ukraine

Ukrainian forces are waging local battles in the Zaporozhye direction, striving to reach more profitable frontiers for the future. This was announced on Thursday by Valery Shershen, representative of the defense forces of the Tavricheskogo direction. He did not provide more detailed information.

Since last night, Russian pro-war bloggers have been reporting fierce battles and the advance of large Ukrainian forces south of the city of Orekhov in the direction of the Russian-controlled city of Tokmak. It is confirmed that the Ukrainian forces are suffering heavy losses, including in armored vehicles.

In the afternoon on Thursday, the Minister of Defense of Russia Sergey Shoigu
declared that the request of the armed forces of Ukraine to break through was suppressed
Russian defense in the Zaporozhye direction.
According to Shoigu, “the enemy was stopped in all four directions and retreated with heavy losses.” The Russian minister claims that Ukraine lost 945 people and more than 30 tanks. Shoigu did not say about Russian losses this time.

For the second time in the last week, the Russian minister made a statement about repelling the Ukrainian offensive. Last time he mentioned even more impressive numbers of Ukrainian losses – more than 3 thousand Ukrainian soldiers and hundreds of armored vehicles, including eight Leopard tanks.

There are no independent confirmations of such large losses and the very demands of a major offensive. Russian pro-military Telegram channels publish photos and videos showing battered equipment, allegedly Ukrainian, but it is not clear where and when the footage was taken. In particular, there is no documentary evidence of the loss of even one Leopard by Ukraine.

The Ukrainian command usually refrains from information about the active actions of its troops. A number of commentators call the current operations of Ukrainian forces in the Zaporozhye region a reconnaissance battle. In the conditions of active hostilities, it is very difficult to independently confirm the statements of the parties.

ABC News, citing two unnamed representatives of the Ukrainian authorities, reports that the offensive of Ukraine, preparations for which have been talked about in recent months, has already begun. Officially, representatives of the Ukrainian leadership say that it is too early to talk about the start of the offensive. President Volodymyr Zelensky said, in particular, that when it starts, “everyone will see it.”