Russian attack helicopters strike Ukrainian brigades, troops repel counterattacks

Russia’s attack helicopters have carried out successful air strikes against two Ukrainian brigades, while their ground forces thwarted four attacks by Ukrainian sabotage groups in the Kupyansk region, military officials said.

“In combat in the Kupyansk area, the crews of Ka-52 and Mi-28 assault helicopters and Su-25 fighter jets of the Battlegroup West carried out 11 air strikes on nine areas,” the battlegroup's spokesman Sergey Zybinsky declared as quoted in a Sunday report by TASS news agency.

According to Zybinsky, the areas targeted by the attack helicopters are “where manpower, weapons, military and special equipment and personnel of [Ukraine’s] 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade and the 103rd Separate Territorial Defense Brigade were amassed.”

He further added that Russian forces prevented four attacks by Ukrainian subversive groups in the Kupyansk area and neutralized the rotation of Ukrainian troops over the past day.

“The group’s artillery thwarted four attempts by the Ukrainian military to rotate troops at forward positions near the settlements of Dvurechnoye, Sinkovka, and Novosyolovskoye,” he also noted.

Attack helicopters win Moscow 'advantage' in southern Ukraine, UK intel concedes amid fresh strikes

Russian attack helicopters conduct eight strikes on Ukrainian forces in the Kupyansk direction, winning an upper hand in southern skies, UK intelligence says.

Russia repels Ukrainian attacks

Russian forces also pushed back Ukrainian attacks in the south Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, destroying tanks, armored vehicles, and manpower, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson told Sputnik on Sunday.

“In the south Donetsk direction, the advanced units of the Vostok group of forces repelled an enemy attack in the Makarovka area. A tank, armored combat vehicles, and manpower were destroyed.” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the enemy “retreated” due to the losses it had suffered.

He added that Russian forces have also destroyed over 50 Ukrainian militants and seven armored vehicles in the South Donetsk direction.

In the Zaporozhye direction, the spokesperson said, another Ukrainian attack was repelled and the enemy retreated having suffered losses in manpower and equipment.

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Earlier this month Ukraine launched a counteroffensive, attempting to cut Russia’s land corridor between Crimea and eastern Donetsk, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged that the progress is “slower than desired.”

Russia has already inflicted heavy losses on Ukrainian forces after Kiev mounted its heavily publicized, western-backed counteroffensive.

The counteroffensive has been effectively hampered by Russian helicopters operating close to the front lines.

An intelligence update issued last week by the British Defense Ministry also conceded that Russia’s use of attack helicopters has given it an “advantage” in southern Ukraine.

Russian troops have reinforced their attack helicopter forces, allowing them to gain “a temporary advantage in southern Ukraine, especially with attack helicopters employing longer-range missiles against ground targets,” it said.

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