MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. Artillery of the western group of forces thwarted three attempts to rotate units of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Kupyansk direction, spokesman for the western group of forces, Colonel Sergey Zybinsky, told TASS.

"Artillery fire thwarted three attempts to rotate units of the 14th separate mechanized brigade at the forefront in the area of the settlements of Sinkovka, Kimkovka," Zybinsky said.

According to him, attack and army aviation also attacked the accumulation of manpower, weapons and military equipment of the 14th separate mechanized brigade and the 103rd separate territorial defense brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces. Also, the air defense of the Western group of troops destroyed the Tochka-U ballistic missile, Zybinsky added.

"The crew of the Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missile system shot down the Tochka-U ballistic missile in the Kharkov region," Zybinsky said.

According to him, in the area of the settlement of Kuzemovka, the Valkyrie strike unmanned aerial vehicle was also destroyed by fire from the Pantsir-S anti-aircraft missile cannon system.