MELITOPOL, September 19. /TASS/. The Russian armed forces have destroyed ten Ukrainian armored vehicles while repulsing two enemy attacks near Rabotino in the Zaporozhye area, Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the 'We Are Together with Russia' movement, told TASS.
"The fighting has sharply intensified in the area between the settlements of Rabotino and Verbovoye. <...> Today there were two attacks. They were all repulsed, enemy armored vehicles were destroyed. At the moment we know about ten destroyed vehicles, these are armored combat vehicles," Rogov said. According to him, after the destruction of the Ukrainian armored vehicles by the Russian forces, the Ukrainian servicemen withdrew to the forest, where they are exposed to Russian multiple rocket launchers and artillery.
"Obviously, the enemy is trying to intensify the fighting between the settlements of Rabotino and Verbovoye, suffering increasing losses, but without success, to say the least," Rogov added.
On Tuesday, Zaporozhye Region Acting Governor Yevgeny Balitsky reported the destruction of a column of Ukrainian armored vehicles near Rabotino. According to him, the enemy was trying to attack the villages of Novopokrovka and Ilchenkovo, located to the south and southeast of the settlement.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Ukrainian army has been making unsuccessful offensive attempts since June 4. On September 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Ukrainian armed forces had lost 71,500 servicemen, 543 tanks, and almost 18,000 armored vehicles. According to the head of state, the Ukrainian counteroffensive has failed.