Kyiv/Moscow: Russia has initiated fierce attacks on Ukraine to thwart Ukraine’s counteroffensive. In the last 24 hours, the Russian military targeted Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson and Odesa provinces with missile and drone attacks. Furthermore, Russia has also claimed it has foiled the initial Ukrainian attacks on Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Bakhmut. In the last 24 hours, more than 200 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the Russian Army operation, and the Russian Defence Ministry has provided information about the heavy damage to the tanks and foreign weapons.  

On Thursday last week, the Ukrainian Army began a major attack on the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine. A few days ago, Ukraine also started targeting Russian positions in the Bakhmut city to regain control. Russian officials, military bloggers, and US think tanks said the attack was part of the hotly debated counteroffensive by the Ukrainian military. However, Ukraine did not give an official response to it.  

However, on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged it. Zelensky made this statement at a press conference held after a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. ‘Ukraine’s defensive attacks and counteroffensive campaign has begun. It is difficult to say in which stage it is now’, President Zelensky said. It is the first time that the Ukrainian government has made such an official statement. This statement clearly appears to confirm the claims made for the past few days.  

The attacks in the last 24 hours have shown that Russia has made great preparations to thwart Ukraine’s counterattacks. Russia carried out massive missile and drone attacks in Sumy and Kharkiv provinces in northern Ukraine and Kherson and Odesa provinces in southern Ukraine. Russia is said to have launched attacks on these provinces with more than ten missiles and 25 drones. In the attacks in Odesa, Russia targeted the airport in Ukraine’s Poltava and caused heavy damage to the weapons depot along with the runway, the Ukrainian agencies admitted.  

The Ukrainian authorities reported that many people were killed, and heavy damages were also caused by the attacks in other parts of Odesa. The Russian Defense Ministry also stated that Russia killed more than 200 Ukrainian soldiers in the conflict in Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia provinces. It includes operations in Krasny, Lyman, Kupiansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces, according to information from Russia.  

Meanwhile, Ukraine has claimed possession of two villages bordering Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk provinces. 

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