For now, according to Kiev, Russian forces are limited to aerial reconnaissance and sabotage missions to deter a Ukrainian offensive. Thus, they launched 16 missiles and bombed three positions on Ukrainian territory, which hit 15 locations.
In the Sumy region, Russian bombardment by tanks, mortars, artillery and rocket launchers took place against infrastructure in four locations.
In the Kramatorsk region of Donetsk province, Russian bombs hit several positions, while in retreating areas they left behind various military equipment, including KAMAZ trucks and Tiger armored vehicles.
According to an official statement by the Ukrainian government, at least 52,650 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the military operation on February 24. In the past 24 hours, Kiev said 400 Russian soldiers had been killed.
These Russian troop moves eastward were confirmed by Moscow, which on Saturday justified the maneuvers as strengthening positions in the neighboring Donetsk region.
Ukraine indicated in its counterattack that it had already “liberated” 3,000 square kilometers this month. Russia controls about 120,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed in 2014.
The military offensive launched by Russia on February 24 in Ukraine has already displaced nearly 13 million people — more than six million internally displaced and nearly seven million in neighboring countries — according to the latest UN data, which has sorted this refugee crisis. Worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion was condemned by the generality of the international community, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and imposing economic sanctions on Russia in everything from banking to energy and sports.
The UN confirmed that 5,587 civilians had died and 7,890 were injured, stressing that the true number was much higher and would only be known at the end of the conflict.