Russian forces in the east are compelled to constantly bring in new reinforcements due to ongoing losses in personnel and equipment, as stated by the spokesperson of the Eastern Military Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Sergey Cherevaty, during a telethon.
"On the Eastern Front, considering the constant losses in personnel and equipment, they (the Russians) are forced to practically conduct weekly rotation activities and bring in the reserves they have. When possible, it includes more professional units like paratroopers, infantry, or tank crews, and if not, then all kinds of proxy military companies, including private military contractors, 'Z' units, 'Bars,' and others," Cherevaty said.
Regarding the recent intensification of hostilities in Kharkiv region, he reminded that their "aggressive, propaganda-filled, revanchist neighbors" live with attachments to dates and symbols.
"Almost a year ago, they suffered a shameful defeat, and one of these points was Kupyansk. Now, they dream of achieving at least minimal success in this direction," Cherevaty commented.
Regarding the situation in the Kupyansk direction, he noted that in one day, the occupiers attempted 20 assaults on positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the areas of Petropavlivske, Synkivka, and Persomaiske, all of which were unsuccessful. They used various types of artillery, including Kalibr missiles, firing at the Ukrainian defenders' positions 508 times. They also deployed combat helicopters and attack aircraft 14 times.
"During the repulsion of enemy attacks, 34 occupiers were killed, and 82 were wounded. This is the contribution of the defenders of Kupyanshchyna to the nationwide tally (of destroyed Russian invaders), which has now crossed 250,000," noted the spokesperson of the Eastern Military Group.
He mentioned that a new Russian T-90 tank was also destroyed, along with two mortars and a shelter with Russian troops.
"Our command sees their intentions, reads, observes the direction of the main efforts, knows all the commanders and units, and has successfully built up the defense there for weeks and months. Everything indicates that it will continue to be successful in the future," Cherevaty said.
Speaking about Bahmut, he emphasized that the Russians are attempting to alleviate the pressure from the Ukrainian Defense Forces on their positions.
"One of the reasons for the enemy's intensification in Kharkiv region is to reduce our pressure near Bahmut. They are transferring professional units there (to the Kupyansk direction)," explained Cherevaty.
Meanwhile, Russian forces on the Bahmut direction are also heavily using artillery.
"They fired at our positions 630 times in one day using all types of artillery. There were 10 clashes on the Bahmut direction. 67 occupiers were killed, and 118 were wounded. The enemy's BMP (infantry fighting vehicle), D-30 howitzer, five field warehouses with ammunition, the drone 'Eleron,' and two kamikaze drones were destroyed," Cherevaty added.
