In the past 24 hours, Ukrainian troops did not take active action in the Zaporozhye direction, having only conducted reconnaissance and attempted to regroup forces, the spokesperson specified.
"In the course of systematic fire and counter-battery combat, a [Ukrainian] mortar crew was destroyed in the Mirny area … A [Russian] strike drone destroyed an armored combat vehicle with militants in the area northwest of Priyutnoye. Assault aircraft hit about a dozen places where militants gathered in the Pyatikhatki area," the spokesperson told Sputnik.
Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, after the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. In response to Russia’s operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.
On September 30, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, signed agreements on the accession of these territories to Russia, following referendums that showed an overwhelming majority of the local population supported becoming part of Russia.
Ukraine launched its long-advertised counteroffensive in early June after multiple postponements. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian troops continue to try but are failing to advance along three directions: South Donetsk, Artemovsk (Bakhmut) and Zaporozhye, the latter being of primary focus.