MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops have found themselves in a difficult situation due to active operations by Russian forces in the Kupyansk area, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said on Monday.

"Our troops are in defense… The situation is difficult," she wrote on her Telegram channel. Fierce fighting is underway, she added.

Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on July 16 that the Ukrainian military’s losses in the Kupyansk area amounted to 50 personnel over the past day. Russian forces also neutralized four Ukrainian subversive/reconnaissance groups in that direction, he added.

Spokesman for Russia’s Battlegroup West Sergey Zybinsky told TASS on July 17 that the battlegroup’s Ka-52 and Mi-28 attack helicopters had delivered 12 strikes against temporary deployment sites of the Ukrainian army’s 14th separate mechanized brigade in the Kupyansk direction over the last 24 hours.