Volunteers of assault detachments, with fire support from operational-tactical and army aviation, missile troops and artillery of the Southern Group of Forces, liberated the settlement of Blagodatnoye of the Donetsk People's Republic as a result of successful offensive operations in the Donetsk direction, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
“In a day, up to 50 Ukrainian servicemen, a French-made CAESAR self-propelled artillery mount, a US-made M777 artillery system, and an Msta-B howitzer were destroyed in this direction,” said Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov during a briefing.
Since the beginning of January, Russian troops in the Donetsk direction have taken control of a number of settlements.
On the evening of January 12, the liberation of Soledar was completed, on January 18 - the village of Sol, on January 20 - the village of Kleshcheevka.
At the same time, units of the 72nd mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were hit in the Yuzhno-Donetsk direction in the area of Ugledar, and in the area of the settlement
Novopol - to the 110th Territorial Defense Brigade.
The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to over 40 servicemen, one tank, two armored combat vehicles and two pickup trucks.
Also, two warehouses with artillery ammunition of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed near Ugledar and Katerynivka.
Also on russian.rt.com The 1st tank brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was hit by fire: the RF Ministry of Defense announced a successful offensive in the direction of Ugledar
In the Kupyansk direction, up to 45 Ukrainian servicemen, one tank, four armored combat vehicles, a car, as well as a D-20 howitzer of units of the 114th and 103rd territorial defense brigades were destroyed by artillery fire.
Over 60 Ukrainian militants and four armored vehicles of units of the 25th Airborne and 95th Airborne Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were liquidated by artillery and heavy flamethrower systems in the Krasnolimansky direction.
At the same time, in the Kherson direction, as part of a counter-battery fight, two Gvozdika self-propelled artillery mounts and two ammunition depots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed.
In addition, operational-tactical aviation, missile forces and artillery defeated 84 artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at firing positions, manpower and military equipment in 126 districts.
In turn, the air defense forces shot down a Mi-8 helicopter of the Ukrainian Air Force near the village of Zolotaya Balka in the Kherson region.
Also in the air, five unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed and three rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system were intercepted.
Attempted sabotage in Zaporozhye
On the night of January 31, a special group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine attempted to break through on the Zaporozhye front, said Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the We Are Together with Russia movement.
“Our scouts, using a Mavic quadcopter with a thermal imager, detected the movement of Ukrainian special forces on the front line at night.
The enemy group was promptly hit by artillery and the most accurate turn of the AGS calculation, ”he wrote in his Telegram channel.
According to Rogov, one of the Ukrainian saboteurs managed to escape.
Earlier it was reported that Ukrainian saboteurs made an unsuccessful attempt to attack the positions of Russian troops in the Krasnolimansky direction.
Battles near Artyomovsk
Volodymyr Nazarenko, deputy commander of the Svoboda battalion as part of the 4th operational brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, on the air of the Rada TV channel, called the situation in the Artyomovsk region difficult.
“For five or six months near Bakhmut (Artyomovsk) it’s been a living hell ... Every day and every hour is a heavy permanent battle,” RIA Novosti quotes him as saying.
Nazarenko also said that his battalion was suffering huge losses.
As the acting head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, reported on Channel One, the Ukrainian military continues to transfer reserves to the Artyomovskoye direction.