Фото: Министерство обороны РФ
Russian forces have repelled ten Kiev army attacks on the Kupyansk and Krasny Liman axes, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.   “On the Kupyansk axis, Task Force “West” assault teams improved positions on the forward line in the course of offensive operations,” the report said. “Supported by aircraft and artillery, they repelled nine attacks by the Ukrainian army’s 14th, 32nd and 44th Mechanized Brigades and 95th Air Assault Brigade in the areas of the Novosyolovskoye and Stelmakhovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic and Olshana and Sinkovka in the Kharkov region.”   Enemy losses on this axis amounted up to 85 servicemen, two armored fighting vehicles, four pickups, one Polish-made “Krab” self-propelled howitzer and one US-made M109 Paladin artillery piece.   On the Krasny Liman axis, Task Force Center” units, aircraft and artillery repelled an attack by assault teams  of the Ukrainian army’s 67th Mechanized Brigade in the Kuzmino settlement area in the Lugansk People’s Republic. The enemy lost up to 55 servicemen, two armored fighting vehicles, three cars and one D-30 howitzer.   Air defense units intercepted four high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) missiles  and two “Uragan” multiple rocket launcher rounds over the past 24 hours. “Twenty-six 26 Ukrainian drones were destroyed in the areas of Tavolzhanka and Tokarevka in the Kharkov region, Severodonetsk, Lisichansk and Svatovo in the Lugansk People’s Republic, and Spornoye, Volnovakha, Gorlovka and Makeyeva in the Donetsk People’s Republic,” the Defense Ministry said.   ***   The Ukrainian government launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against Donbass in April 2014.  The peace talks failed to reach tangible results due to Kiev’s position to settle the conflict by force.   President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation on February 24, 2022 to protect Donbass residents from Ukrainian aggression. Prior to that, LPR and DPR Heads Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin asked the Russian leader to provide military assistance.*i*ie