LUGANSK, August 25. /TASS/. Russian servicemen eliminated over 4,400 Ukrainian servicemen and foreign mercenaries in fighting near the Lugansk People's Republic over the past week, military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS.

"Analysis of the course of the special military operation on the borders of the LPR over the past week. <...> Russia’s battlegroups North, South and West wiped out about 4,380 Ukrainian troops and mercenaries. The battlegroup West inflicted the greatest damage to Ukrainian manpower while operating in the Kupyansk and Svatovo-Kremennaya areas of the LPR," he said, analyzing data from the Russian Defense Ministry.

The military expert added that Russian servicemen destroyed six tanks (three of which were Leopard tanks), 55 field artillery guns, one Grad multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), 49 radio-electronic and counter-battery warfare stations, 93 ammunition, fuel, and material depots, and nearly 270 enemy combat vehicles over the past week.

According to Marochko, the Ukrainian armed forces increased the number of counterattacks and terrorist attacks against civilians last week. Additionally, Kiev has increased the activity of the Ukrainian Center for Informational and Psychological Operations to misrepresent the situation on the front line. However, this did not stop Russian units from liberating several settlements and advancing deep into enemy defenses, thereby improving their tactical position, the expert stated.