South Front – Sept 29, 2023

The Russian Ministry of Defenses has provided a detailed summary of Ukrainian losses during week seventeen of the so-called spring counteroffensive.

According to the ministry, the Russian military carried out nine group strikes with high-precision long-range missiles and drones between September 24 and 29. The strikes hit ammunition depots, military-technical hardware, saboteurs training sites and accommodation points for Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries.

As a result of the strikes, the control center of the so-called International Legion and two large arsenals with weapons and ammunition were destroyed.

“The supply of foreign-made weapons and logistical support for Ukrainian troops operating in Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions were disrupted,” the ministry said.

The ministry also provided details about the combat situation in different directions within the special military operation zone over the past week.

In the Donetsk direction, Kiev forces continued to attempt offensive actions close to Artemovsk, Avdeevka and Marinka over the past week. The Russian Yug Group of Forces repelled 31 attacks there.

More than 1,760 Ukrainian troops were killed or wounded during the fighting in this direction, the ministry said, adding that 40 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles as well as 70 motor vehicles were destroyed.

In addition, 13 field artillery pieces and two BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers were neutralized. Ground-attack aircraft also destroyed two ammunition depots near Zvanovka and Zarya.

“In order to make up for the significant losses of manpower during the failed assaults on Kleshcheyevka and Andreevka, the AFU [Armed Forces of Ukraine] command was forced to redeploy units of the 33rd, 67th and 110th mechanized brigades from other directions,” the ministry revealed.

In the Zaporozhye direction, Russian forces continued to conduct active defense over the past week and repelled eight attacks by Ukraine’s 65th Mechanised and 71st Jaeger brigade close to Vebovoye and Rabotino.

Several gatherings of manpower and equipment from the 21st, 23rd and 118th mechanized brigades were also targeted near Malaya Tokmachka, Orekhov and Novodanilovka.

Ukrainian losses in this direction amounted to more than 330 troops, 32 armored fighting vehicles, 38 motor vehicles and 25 field artillery pieces, the ministry said.

“The AFU Command is currently withdrawing the 47th Mechanised Brigade of the AFU from the area of Rabotino to the rear area due to the fact that servicemen are refusing to carry out combat tasks because of the losses they have suffered,” the ministry added.

And in the South Donetsk direction, Russian forces repelled four attacks by the 127th Territorial Defence Brigade in the vicinity of Priyutnoye over the past week. In addition, a series of air and artillery strikes hit several Ukrainian gatherings of manpower and equipment. .

“During the week, the enemy’s losses totalled over 750 Ukrainian troops killed and wounded, 22 armored fighting vehicles, 37 motor vehicles and 15 field artillery pieces,” the ministry. “Also, two AFU sabotage and reconnaissance groups were neutralized near Marcopol.”

In the Kupyansk direction, air and artillery strikes by the Russian Zapad Group of Forces targeted gatherings of manpower and equipment from Ukraine’s 25th Airborne, 14th, 43rd and 92nd mechanized brigades near Sinkovka, Peschanoye, Cherneshchina and Novolyubovka.

The ministry said that 210 Ukrainian troops, five armored fighting vehicles, 30 motor vehicles and 13 field artillery pieces were neutralized during the fighting in this direction over the past week. In addition, four ammunition depots were destroyed close to Berestovoye, Kislovka and Ogurtsovo.

In the Krasny Liman direction, the 12th Special Forces Brigade, the 63rd and 67th mechanized brigades of Kiev forces made unsuccessful attempts to regain lost positions near Torskoye and in the Serebryansky forestry. At least 12 attacks were repelled by the Russian Tsentr Group of Forces.

More than 360 Ukrainian troops, 20 armored fighting vehicles, 20 motor vehicles and 12 guns were neutralized in this direction, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile in the Kherson direction, the main efforts of Russian forces were focused on preventing Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups from landing on the islands and the left bank of the Dnepr.

“As part of this task, three AFU sabotage and reconnaissance groups were disabled,” the ministry said, adding that “up to 250 Ukrainian servicemen, 16 armored fighting vehicles and 42 motor vehicles were destroyed during the week.”

In addition, Seven field artillery pieces of Kiev forces were destroyed by Russian counter-battery fire during the fighting in this direction.

The ministry also announced that the Russian Aerospace Forces have destroyed five warplanes of the Ukrainian Air Force over the past week.

“One Ukrainian Su-25 ground-attack aircraft was shot down near Toretskoye (Donetsk People’s Republic).

Two Mig-29 fighter jets of the Ukrainian Air Force have been destroyed at the Dolgintsevo airfield, Dnepropetrovsk region.

In addition, on the night of 29 September, two more Mig-29 fighter jets delivered from Poland and upgraded to use Western missile weapons were eliminated at the Kulbakino airfield, Nikolayev region.

One Mi-8 helicopter of the Ukrainian Air Force was also shot down by means of air defense near Kleshchev (Donetsk People’s Republic),” the ministry said.

Moreover, Russian air defenses intercepted 33 HIMARS and Olkha rockets, one JDAM guided aerial bomb and four HARM anti-radiation missiles during the past week. During the same period, 185 Ukrainian drones were downed by air defenses or electronic warfare means, according to the ministry.

“In total, 482 airplanes and 250 helicopters, 7,252 unmanned aerial vehicles, 438 air defense missile systems, 12,210 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, 1,157 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 6,584 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 13,590 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation,” the ministry concluded.

In addition to the information provided by the ministry, lostarmour.info, a website that tracks military losses, documented eight strikes with Lancet loitering munitions and 99 strikes with FPV suicide drones against Kiev forces between September 24 and 29.

Overall, the Ukrainian counteroffensive is failing. Worsening weather conditions could force the Kiev regime to halt the counteroffensive by winter. With heavy losses and no meaningful gains, Kiev could face a serious backlash from its backers who provided more than $200 billion in military aid for the counteroffensive.

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