Russia counters claims of defense breakthroughs
The Russian Ministry of Defense rejected reports of defense breakthroughs as falsehoods. Its press service stated that the military situation in the zone of operations remains under control of the Russian armed forces.
The ministry’s statement also dismissed circulating messages on select Telegram channels about supposed breakthroughs along various points of the contact line, insisting those reports do not reflect reality.
Specifically, the ministry noted that there are no active operations in the Kupyansky, Zaporozhye, or Kherson directions. It added that in the Kupyansky direction, three Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups were stopped during the day. In the Krasnolimansky direction, forces described as the Center troop group repelled two Ukrainian assaults near Kremennaya and Chervona Dibrova.
The ministry reported that a battle was underway to halt an attack by a unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the settlement of Maloilinovka, with involvement of army units, strike aircraft, and artillery, and it claimed that Ukraine had suffered significant losses.
Fighting in the Bakhmut region, also known as Artemovsk, was described as ongoing, with assault teams operating in the western part of the city supported by aviation and artillery. The ministry also stated that the Southern troop group was active around Avdiivka and Maryinka, attempting to block and seize those areas.
In the Donetsk direction, the ministry claimed that three enemy reconnaissance attempts in force were thwarted and eight Ukrainian attacks on Russian positions were repelled.
Who announced the Ukrainian counter-offensive?
On the evening of May 11, several Russian war correspondents on Telegram channels reported that a Ukrainian counterattack had begun. One prominent military commentator suggested that Ukrainian forces were attempting to encircle Russian troops toward Artyomovsk and alleged a breakthrough near the Soledar area, while also mentioning the movement of weapons and equipment in the Kharkiv region.
Subsequent updates suggested that the enemy was conducting what was described as a local action within a broader plan. Another correspondent asserted that Ukrainian pressure was being applied on the flanks of Artemovsk, while later messaging claimed there was no active advance toward the Orekhovskoye area.
A different analyst claimed that a Ukrainian breakthrough near Bogdanovka, close to Bakhmut, had occurred, with some reports deriving from RT channels. A further note indicated that the broader trend had Ukraine advancing in certain locales while Russian forces managed to repel attacks near Mayorsk.
Counterclaims from regional authorities
Officials in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions denied any Ukrainian offensive has begun. Vladimir Rogov, head of the We are with Russia movement, said he could not confirm reports of an offensive starting in the Zaporozhye region, adding that none of the stationed units were validating such information in the field.
In contrast, Vladimir Saldo, deputy governor of Kherson, described the front line as stable and pledged a strong response if the Dnieper crossing or any major action were attempted. Volodymyr Leontiev, the head of Novaya Kakhovka, urged skepticism about reports of Ukrainian boats and equipment massing on the right bank of the Dnieper and said any landing on the left bank would fail.
Chechnya’s deputy chief of the Akhmat special forces, Apty Alaudinov, expressed a view that the Ukrainian military could not achieve anything extraordinary with its current forces and that the course of the war would not be altered by such actions.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company, reported that Ukrainian forces had moved forward in certain areas near Bakhmut but criticized Kyiv’s leadership. He characterized the Ukrainian plan as a repeating pattern of actions with hits and counterhits. Ukraine had, in earlier statements, described a counteroffensive expected to begin in spring and summer in 2023, with Yevgeny Balitsky, acting governor of Zaporozhye, suggesting preparations could begin in the coming days or hours.