MOSCOW, January 2. /TASS/. Russian forces repelled six Ukrainian attacks in the Kupyansk area in the past day, eliminating over 115 Ukrainian troops and 13 pieces of equipment, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"In the Kupyansk area, units of Battlegroup West, attack and army aircraft crews and artillery forces repelled six attacks by the assault teams of the 21st, 60th and 115th mechanized brigades and the 95th Air Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces near Sinkovka and Terny in the Kharkov Region. Units of the Fourth Tank Brigade, the 14th and 44th mechanized brigades and the 103rd Territorial Defense Brigade were hit near Petropavlovka, Vishnyovoye and Peschanoye in the Kharkov Region. As a result, 115 troops were killed, while three tanks, nine motor vehicles, a US-made M777 artillery system and a D-30 howitzer were destroyed," the statement reads.