In the Zaporizhia region
Russia: “Counteroffensive completely stopped”, Ukraine denies it
November 6, 2023, 7:26 a.m
What is the military situation in the Zaporizhia region? There are different reports from the front. Russia claims to have “completely stopped” the Ukrainian counteroffensive. The Ukrainians, on the other hand, report that the Russian attacks were unsuccessful.
Russia reports a military success against the Ukrainian army. “The enemy has been stopped and his much-hyped counteroffensive has been completely stopped,” Yevgeny Balitsky, the top official appointed by Moscow in the annexed Zaporizhzhia region, said in a statement. There are only a few smaller skirmishes near the village of Robotyne and near the village of Shcherbaky.
The Ukrainian General Staff said on Sunday evening that Russian forces had made several unsuccessful attacks near Robotyne and Werbowe, a village a few kilometers east of there. Ukrainian forces carried out “offensive operations” in the direction of Melitopol in the west of the Zaporizhia region and “exhausted the enemy there along the entire front line.” Russia, however, reported that its air defense forces had repelled Ukrainian air strikes there.
“Tragedy that could have been avoided”
Kiev has launched a criminal investigation into the deaths of at least 20 Ukrainian soldiers who, according to media, died in a Russian missile attack at an award ceremony in the Zaporizhzhia region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made this known in his evening speech. “This is a tragedy that could have been avoided,” he said.
The Ukrainian army confirmed on Saturday that some soldiers from its 128th Mountain Infantry Brigade had been killed in a rocket attack the day before, but did not provide any casualty figures. “(Russia) fired an Iskander-M missile at personnel of the 128th Mountain Infantry Brigade, killing the soldiers and injuring local residents to varying degrees of severity,” the army said.
A Ukrainian soldier said in online media that 22 members of the brigade had been killed. He criticized commanders for holding the ceremony. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that it had inflicted a “fire defeat” on a Ukrainian unit in Zaporizhia, killing up to 30 soldiers.