Russian Defense Ministry claims that Ukrainian forces attempted to "penetrate" into Belgorod region, reporting "significant losses" on Ukrainian side
The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that starting at 5 a.m. on March 18, Ukrainian troops allegedly attempted to "penetrate" Russian territory in the western part of the Belgorod region, advancing toward the settlements of Demidovka and Prilesye.
This was stated by the Russian Defense Ministry, as reported by Censor.NET.
The Russian side asserts that units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "penetrated" the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation to "create a negative backdrop" for the Putin-Trump negotiations.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, up to 200 Ukrainian soldiers and 29 pieces of military equipment were involved in what they call a "provocation." This included five tanks, 16 armored combat vehicles, three engineering obstacle-clearing vehicles, a UR-77 remote demining system, and four other vehicles.
It is claimed that Russian forces prevented a border breakthrough and allegedly killed 60 Ukrainian soldiers, destroying one tank, seven armored combat vehicles, three engineering obstacle-clearing vehicles, and one car.
"The remaining militants were dispersed, and the enemy abandoned further attacks. The Ukrainian Armed Forces launched 30 air and missile strikes on exposed concentrations of personnel and weapons and military equipment reserves within an 8-10 kilometer zone in the Sumy region, along with 13 strikes by army aviation, an Iskander missile strike, a Tornado-S MLRS strike, and two strikes by heavy flamethrower systems. Forty UMPK (universal planning and correction module) FAB-500 aerial bombs were used. The enemy suffered significant losses," the Russian Federation said in a statement.
