MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. The Russian Army's Battlegroup South repelled 18 attempted assaults by the Ukrainian armed forces in the Donetsk direction, with the enemy losing roughly 200 men in killed and wounded, Battlegroup Spokesman Vadim Astafyev told TASS.

"A unit of Battlegroup South, supported by aviation and artillery, repelled 18 attacks by Ukrainian assault teams in the Donetsk direction, as it struck enemy manpower and equipment near the settlements of Artyomovskoye, Georgiyevka, Kleshcheyevka and Kurdyumovka. The adversary lost up to 200 men in killed and wounded as well as two armored combat vehicles," Astafyev reported.

In Russian counter-battery fire, two 122mm D-30 howitzers were destroyed, Astafyev specified. Also, Russian air defense forces downed four Ukrainian drones near Shevchenko in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).