"Airborne troops stopped the enemy in the gray zone … As a result of the battle, more than 200 Ukrainian military personnel, five tanks, eight infantry fighting vehicles and more than 10 unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed," the source said.
In total, over 300 soldiers, six tanks and 10 armored combat vehicles took part in the offensive, the source added.
Ukraine has touted its coming offensive since late 2022. It was first scheduled for the spring, then rescheduled to the summer. The Ukrainian government said the postponement was due to a shortage of weapons, all while pushing its Western donors to supply progressively heavier arms, including tanks, drones and fighter jets.
Ukrainian troops launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the South Donetsk direction on June 4 but failed to achieve their goals, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Since then, the Ukrainian military has been trying to break through the defense lines of the Russian armed forces in the Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions, but their attempts have been unsuccessful and Ukraine has suffered heavy losses in armored equipment and manpower.