"Scouts of the Southern Military District, in cooperation with artillery units, disrupted the rotation of the Ukrainian armed forces personnel at the front line near Rabotino in the Zaporozhye region. With the help of a reconnaissance drone equipped with thermal imaging equipment, a hub of Ukrainian nationalists preparing for the rotation of personnel has been detected," the ministry said in a statement, adding that 35 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded and two vehicles have been destroyed.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive began on June 4. Kiev has thrown into battle brigades trained by NATO instructors and armed with Western equipment, including Leopard and Challenger tanks. Three months later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Kiev's push had failed, with Ukraine suffering severe casualties. Several Western officials also admitted that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had not been successful so far.
On November 1, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny said in an interview with the Economist that Kiev's counteroffensive had reached a "stalemate."