The Russian Ministry of Defense has described reports of defense breakthroughs as “untrue”. The press service of the department said that the situation in the zone of military operations is under the control of the Russian armed forces.
In the statement made by the Ministry of National Defense, it was stated that the statements circulating on individual Telegram channels about the “defense breakthroughs” that took place in various parts of the contact line do not correspond to reality.
In particular, according to the ministry, “active actions are not carried out” in Kupyansky, Zaporozhye and Kherson directions.
As the department noted, in the Kupyansky direction, the actions of three Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups during the day were stopped, and in the Krasnolimansky direction, the troop group ” Center” in the Kremennaya and Chervona Dibrova region repelled two attacks of the corporate tactical groups of the Ukrainian army.
“Currently, a battle is underway to repel the attack of a unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the direction of the Maloilinovka settlement. The army and attack aircraft, as well as artillery, were involved,” he said, emphasizing that Ukraine had suffered “significant losses”.
The Ministry of Defense also reported on the ongoing fighting in the Bakhmut (Artemovsk) region. According to the agency, “attack teams” are fighting in the western part of the city with aviation and artillery support. Also, according to the ministry, units of the “Southern” troop group are active to block Avdiivka and take Maryinka.
“In the Donetsk direction, three reconnaissance attempts of the enemy in force were thwarted, and eight attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the positions of the Russian troops were successfully repelled,” said the Ministry of Defense.
Who announced the “counter-offensive” of the Armed Forces of Ukraine?
On the evening of May 11, several Russian war correspondents on Telegram channels reported that a counterattack by Ukrainian troops had begun. Especially the military commander Yevgeny Poddubny WroteIt was alleged that the Ukrainian army began to encircle Russian forces in the direction of Artyomovsky (Bakhmut) and allegedly “made a breakthrough” in the Soledar region. He also wrote about the “active” movement of weapons and military equipment in the Kharkov region.
Later, the military commander declared that “the enemy is waging local wars as part of a grand plan” – a planned attack.
“The enemy continues to put pressure on the flanks of Artemovsk”, Wrote and military correspondent of Komsomolskaya Pravda Alexander Kots. He later added that there was no “active advance of the enemy” in the direction of Orekhovskoye.
Military correspondent Alexander Simonov claimed that “the breakthrough of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was successful” in the Bogdanovka district near Bakhmut, and the RT channel knowledgeableAccording to preliminary data, most of the Ukrainian attacks started in the direction of Donetsk.
Military correspondent Semyon Pegov also wrote that “the enemy is advancing more in one place and less in another”, but later explained that the Russian army was able to repel the attacks of the Ukrainian army near Mayorsk.
Denial from the regional authorities
Officials of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions also denied that the Ukrainian offensive had begun. In particular, the head of the “We are with Russia” movement, Vladimir Rogov, said that he could not confirm the data on the start of the offensive in the Zaporozhye region.
“None of our guys defending these lines, where I was able to connect quickly, are verifying the information being spread over the network,” he said.
In contrast, Deputy Governor of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo described the situation on the contact line as stable.
“In the event of an attempt to force the Dnieper or any other major activity, there will be an overwhelming response to the enemy. But I repeat, the situation is calm at the moment.”
The head of Novaya Kakhovka, Volodymyr Leontiev, called for skepticism about the information about the accumulation of boats and Ukrainian equipment on the right bank of the Dnieper for a possible landing on the left bank of the Kherson region. told the agency TASSThat any landing operation of Ukrainian troops in this direction is “doomed to failure”.
Apty Alaudinov, Chechnya’s deputy chief of the Akhmat special forces, also expressed the opinion that the Ukrainian army can do “nothing supernatural” with the forces it has.
“This will in no way change the history, the course of the war or the outcome of this war,” he told RIA Novosti.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company, reported on the afternoon of May 11 that the Ukrainian army “went on the wings” near Bakhmut and in some places they were successful. Prigozhin also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of cunning, who previously said that the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian army was delayed.
“As I have said many times, the plan of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is in place: we go, we hit them, they hit us,” said the founder of the PMC.
Ukraine declared a counterattack from the winter. Its terms have not been named exactly, but they have announced it will begin in the spring and summer of 2023. On May 5, Acting Governor of the Zaporozhian Region Yevgeny Balitsky said that the offensive of the Ukrainian army could begin in the coming days or even hours.