Russia says it has hit Leopard tanks and US Bradley vehicles in Ukraine

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Sunday it had destroyed at least seven German-made Leopard tanks and five US-made Bradleys over the course of 48 hours while fending off Ukrainian attacks, though Russian bloggers said Ukraine had briefly penetrated part of the Russian tanks. . Line.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged on Saturday that his military was engaged in “offensive and defensive counter operations”, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia had repulsed the first volleys in the offensive.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that over the past day it had repelled more than 12 Ukrainian attacks in three main directions and destroyed a column of armored vehicles from the 128th mountain assault brigade in the Zaporozhye region.

“Over the past day, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continued unsuccessful offensive attempts in the Donetsk, South Donetsk and Zaporizhia directions,” the statement said.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify battlefield reports from either side, but was able to verify the location though not the date of a video showing Russian drones striking Ukrainian tanks in the Zaporozhye region.

Russian military bloggers said that Ukrainian forces broke through part of the Russian lines south of the town of Velika Novosilka, briefly capturing several villages as Russian forces retreated to higher ground.

Vladimir Rogov, a Russian official in the Russian-controlled part of Zaporizhia, said Russian forces then retook the village.

Ukraine said it had made gains near Bakhmut, which fell to Russia last month.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released several videos and photos over the last days showing numerous strikes on Ukrainian armored vehicles and tanks from Ka-52 attack helicopters and drones.

In footage released by the ministry on Saturday, drones were shown hitting tanks in the Zaporizhia region where Kiev forces have so far concentrated their counter-offensive.

Reuters was able to verify the location of the video about two miles south of the village of Mala Tokmachka in Zaporizhzhia by lines of vegetation, crop boxes and buildings that matched satellite imagery of the area.

(Covering) By Guy Faulconbridge Editing by Frances Kerry and Jean Harvey

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.