Soldiers of Ukraine's 79th Tavrian Air Assault Brigade said they had repelled one of the largest Russian assaults in the Kurakhove sector since the beginning of Moscow's full-scale war.
Russia is carrying out intense attacks in multiple sections of the eastern front, with attempts to break through Ukraine's defenses in Donetsk Oblast toward the towns of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove. Ukrainian troops fended off 29 attacks in the Kurakhove sector alone, the General Staff said in its latest update.
The Russian army launched the attack from several directions simultaneously at dawn on July 24, the brigade said, sharing footage showing the assault.
The attack reportedly involved 57 pieces of armored vehicles, including 11 tanks, 12 motorcycles, and 200 assault vehicles.
The brigade spotted the Russian equipment in advance, and unleashed artillery fire against Moscow's forces. The first tanks and armored combat vehicles were halted by attack drones operators, the military says. A number of vehicles exploded on mines placed by the brigade.
According to the statement, Ukraine's paratroopers damaged six Russian tanks, seven armored vehicles, and destroyed all motorcycles. Forty Russian soldiers were killed, and 37 others injured, the brigade said.
"After the first tanks and armored vehicles were hit, the rest of the equipment fled the battlefield," the military added.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these reports.
According to the crowd-sourced monitoring website DeepState, Moscow captured Prohres – a village over 23 kilometers (15 miles) east of Pokrovsk – over the weekend and is now attempting to encircle Ukrainian units nearby.
Following these claims, the Ukrainian military said that Russia's soldiers near Prohres are under Ukraine's fire and fighting is ongoing.
Francis Farrell
(Updated: )
