Russia's Claims of Repelling Ukrainian Attacks on Occupied Grounds Challenged

Russia's defence ministry claimed to have thwarted another major offensive by Ukraine in Donetsk, destroying military equipment and inflicting huge personnel losses. However, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, dismissed the statement as "absurd science fiction." Both sides have often made claims of inflicting heavy human losses on each other which could not be independently verified. It is unclear if Ukraine's long-anticipated counteroffensive has begun.