GROZNY, June 19. /TASS/. The Chechen Vostok-Akhmat battalion thwarted the Ukrainian army’s attempts to break through the defenses of Russian troops in the Zaporozhye area, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Monday.

"Fighters of the Vostok-Akhmat battalion of the Russian defense ministry are thwarting the enemy's attempts to break through our defenses in the Zaporozhye area. Thanks to the effective actions of our soldiers, Ukrainian troops have to squander their munitions without any damage to us," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

According to Kadyrov, Ukrainian troops are only wasting their munitions by shelling residential quarters, since civilians have been evacuated from the area. "And later, Ukrainian propaganda will claim that the Russian army destroys civilian facilities, although it is done by Banderite and NATO forces. We don’t deny, however, that our soldiers deprive the foe of the possibility to adjust fire by means of downing enemy drones," he added.