"Today at 1:30 a.m. [local time, 22:30 GMT on Wednesday], the enemy totaling up to 1,500 military and 150 armored vehicles attempted to break through our defense in the Zaporozhye direction," Shoigu told reporters.
Ukraine lost up to 350 military, as well as 30 tanks and 11 infantry fighting vehicles as a result of a two-hour battle, the minister said.
"The reconnaissance forces detected the enemy in a timely manner, delivered a preventive strike by artillery, aviation and anti-tank weapons," Shoigu said.
Kiev has been promising a "counter-offensive" for the past month, but Ukrainian troops have failed to advance, only losing several key positions, including the city of Artemovsk in the DPR. However, Ukraine has boosted its activity on the frontlines following Kiev's attack on the Novaya Kakhovka dam, which led to the flooding of a major area in Russia's Kherson region.