MELITOPOL, August 23. /TASS/. Russian forces have thwarted three attempts by Ukrainian troops to sweep southeast of the village of Urozhainoye in the south Donetsk area, Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the We Are Together With Russia movement, told TASS.

"Speaking of the situation near the Vremevsky bulge, Ukrainian troops <...> have been testing our defenses there, with reserves arriving. Right in Urozhainoye, small groups with support of armored vehicles, using engineering equipment and mine sweepers, [made] attempts to <…> sweep southeast of the locality. As soon as those attempts were exposed, artillery and mortar fire was unleashed on the enemy. So far, at least three such attempts have been made, and all of them were thwarted by our defenders," Rogov said.

The localities of Priyutnoye and Urozhainoye are of critical importance to the Ukrainian army in terms of organizing an offensive and advancing further toward the villages of Zavetnoye Zhelaniye and Staromlinovka. "The main forces from among Ukrainian reserves are currently being accumulated near Priyutnoye. Whenever a Ukrainian unit arrives, it is met with Russian artillery fire and air strikes," Rogov added.

The Russian Defense Ministry has said that the Ukrainian armed forces has been making unsuccessful attempts at a counteroffensive since June 4. According to the military agency, over two months, Ukraine has lost more than 43,000 troops and about 5,000 units of various armaments, including 26 aircraft and 25 Leopard tanks. Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized that the Ukrainian military had failed to achieve any success at all in any area.