The Russian military reports that its artillery and air surveillance helped prevent a breakthrough by Ukrainian forces near Soledar. DEA News cites the commander of the artillery unit from the 200th Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces, who provided the update on the recent fighting. The commander noted that Ukrainian units tend to launch their assaults in the early morning hours, taking advantage of low light and cooler conditions to move quickly into attack positions.
According to his account, a calculated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) tracked and confirmed the enemy’s advance and the location chosen as the starting point for the assault, which utilized nearby forested fields as cover. He said that a group of up to 50 Ukrainian personnel was neutralized by losses estimated at around 80 percent. The commander also mentioned a second wave of attackers, numbering up to 20 fighters, that was detected and eliminated a few hours later.
In a separate assessment, former military analyst and retired Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Marochko, affiliated with the Lugansk People’s Militia of the People’s Republic, stated that Ukrainian forces in the Luhansk direction suffered a significant toll last week, with an estimated three thousand casualties reported in that sector. Marochko also asserted that Russian troops repelled more than 50 Ukrainian attacks within the span of seven days, underscoring the intensity of ongoing engagements in the region.
Additional comments from Russian officials indicated that official channels have denied recent rumors about high-ranking leadership changes, including discussions about General Surovikin. The overall narrative from Moscow remains that Russian forces are maintaining firm defensive and counterattacking positions in the area, with ongoing tempo in both surveillance and battlefield response as reported by DEA News.