Ukrainian forces have successfully eliminated (killed) around 10,000 Russian soldiers over the past month in the Donetsk region, according to Serhiy Naiev, commander of Ukraine’s Vuhledar tactical troop grouping. Despite ongoing pressure from the Kremlin’s military, Ukrainian troops not only managed to reduce their own losses but also improved their tactical position in three key operational areas.
Commander Naiev explained that strong defence planning and coordination with brigade-level leadership helped to hold back Russian assaults. Ukrainian forces cut their own casualties by 15 percent while inflicting major losses on the invading troops. The Russian dictator’s military has attempted to push toward the administrative border between Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, but their efforts have largely failed.
One of the heaviest attacks occurred in the Novopavlivka area, where Russian forces launched a multi-directional assault using tanks, armoured vehicles, motorcycles, and other equipment. However, Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance spotted them five to ten kilometres in advance. Using firepower and kamikaze drones, Ukrainian defenders destroyed two Russian tanks, six armoured vehicles, two cars, fourteen motorcycles, and killed more than seventy enemy troops in that engagement alone.
Russian forces have intensified their efforts along the Novopavlivka and Pokrovsk fronts, doubling their activity in the past month. Despite this, Ukraine’s resistance has held strong. In April alone, Ukrainian troops recorded 1,916 enemy assaults, 9,734 artillery attacks, 8,275 aerial bomb drops from drones, and more than 16,000 first person view drone strikes, which is triple the number compared to the previous period.
Naiev said Russia continues its assaults with little concern for its own casualties, conducting daily tactical airstrikes and mass drone reconnaissance missions. Still, he assured that every move the enemy makes is carefully tracked. “The enemy rains down fire and steel, ignoring their own losses. But every step they take is in our sights,” he stated.
