War in Ukraine: Russia says it has repelled a "large-scale offensive" Ukrainian

Europe 1 with AFP 06:45, 05 June 2023, modified at 06:46, 05 June 2023

THE ESSENTIALS

"On the morning of June 4, the enemy launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the front in the direction of the southern Donetsk region," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, without specifying the exact location of the battle. "The enemy has not achieved its goal, it has not succeeded," he added, accompanying his announcement with a video showing what are presented as Ukrainian tanks filmed from the air being destroyed by Russian forces.

Key takeaways:

• Russia claimed to have repelled a Ukrainian "large-scale offensive" in Donbass
• Kiev made no mention of this offensive
• Fighting in the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, between the Russian army and pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters, took place on Sunday

General Gerasimov, target of criticism

According to the ministry, the Chief of Staff of the Russian army, General Valery Gerasimov, "was during this period at one of the advanced command posts in this direction". General Gerasimov, appointed in January "commander of the combined group of troops" deployed in Ukraine, is regularly the target of criticism or insults from the boss of the paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The latter accuses him of being responsible, with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, for the "tens of thousands" of Russian fighters killed or wounded in Ukraine by depriving them of ammunition. According to the Russian ministry, the Ukrainian army carried out the offensive with six mechanized battalions and two tank battalions.

Silence in Kiev

There was no immediate mention of these events by Ukrainian authorities. Kiev has been saying for months that it is preparing a major counter-offensive against Russian forces. In a video released Sunday, the Ukrainian military appeared to call on soldiers to remain silent, and said there would be no announcement on the start of the long-awaited offensive.

In addition to the Ukrainian attack in the Donbass announced by Moscow, fighting took place Sunday in the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, between the Russian army and pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters, according to the regional governor. "A sabotage group has arrived, there is fighting in Novaya Tavoljanka," a border village, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. "I hope they will all be destroyed." He added that the attackers, whom he described as Russian fighters engaged alongside Kiev, had taken prisoners and offered an exchange.

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"Sabotage group"

One of these pro-Ukrainian groups, the "Freedom Legion for Russia" has assured to transfer the prisoners it holds to the Ukrainian authorities, who regularly organize prisoner exchanges with Russian forces. This is the first time that a Russian official has admitted that Russian fighters have been captured on Russian territory itself, after more than 15 months of fighting on Ukrainian territory.

The Russian military later claimed to have repelled a "sabotage group composed of Ukrainian terrorists" that sought to cross the border. "The enemy was hit by our artillery. He dispersed and retreated," the army said in a statement. The fighting around Novaya Tavolzhanka follows an incursion by pro-Ukrainian forces into the Belgorod region last month, which forced Moscow to use its artillery and air force on its own soil.

The border violation was claimed by groups of anti-Kremlin Russian nationalists. Villages near the border have been heavily bombed by Ukraine for the past week, forcing thousands to flee to Belgorod, the region's major city. Ukraine has never claimed responsibility for the attacks on Russian soil, but presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said Sunday that the situation in the border areas "should be considered Russia's future."