LUGANSK, April 23. /TASS/. Drone operators from Russia’s battlegroup East thwarted a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Zaporozhye Region, destroying enemy assault vehicles and transport, military expert Vitaly Kiselev told TASS.

"The Zaporozhye-Dnepropetrovsk area and prospects. <…> Our assault groups are taking up new positions. There is confirmed data that we have captured a major Ukrainian stronghold, as well as a logistics hub and a base where drone operators were hiding. Drone operators from the battlegroup East thwarted a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Zaporozhye Region, destroying their assault vehicles and transport. The operation is proceeding according to plan," he said.

The military expert noted that Ukrainian military analysts are panicking: Russian forces are preparing an offensive in the Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk Regions. "These strikes are intended to support the main operation in the Donetsk region, and the territory of the Dnepropetrovsk Region is already effectively a flank zone for our strategic advance," Kiselev explained.