The Russian military claims to have thwarted and repelled a "large-scale attack" by Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region which was annexed by Moscow last year.

As reported by AFP, Monday (5/6/2023), Kiev has for months said it was preparing a massive counteroffensive, with the aim of retaking areas occupied by Russian forces since its invasion launched in February 2022.

Donetsk is one of four Ukrainian regions unilaterally annexed by the Kremlin in September last year. The other three regions are Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

In its latest report on Sunday (4/6) local time, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that "the enemy launched a massive offensive in five sectors of the battle front" in the southern region of Donetsk.

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"A total of six mechanized battalions and two enemy tank battalions were involved," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a Telegram statement. It also stated that Ukrainian soldiers attacked "the most vulnerable sector of the frontline", which, in their opinion, was.

"The enemy did not achieve their task, they did not achieve success," emphasized the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The Russian Ministry of Defense also posted a video of the battle showing Ukrainian armored vehicles being rained down under heavy barrage.