MELITOPOL, October 31. /TASS/. Russian forces repelled a Ukrainian attack near the village of Verbovoye in the Orekhov area on Tuesday morning, Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the We Stand With Russian movement, told TASS.
"The enemy attempted to break through our defenses near Verbovoye early in the morning. They used about five armored vehicles to deploy and cover their troops. The attack was repelled; at least one tank was hit and at least ten Ukrainian militants were killed," he specified.
Rogov pointed out that enemy attacks towards the Novoprokopovka, Kopani and Nesteryanka settlements had been thwarted.
"A large number of troops and a great amount of equipment were detected near Verbovoye. Our artillery and missile troops hit them; information is being collected about enemy losses," he added.
The Ukrainian army has been attempting to advance without success since June 4. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on October 30 that over 90,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed or wounded since then. Kiev has also lost about 600 tanks and 1,900 armored vehicles of various types. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine has been unable to achieve any tangible results. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on October 15 that the Ukrainian army’s counteroffensive had failed even though Kiev was making preparations for more offensive operations in some areas.