The Russian army is continuing its offensive in Ukraine after capturing the Avdiyiv Bastion and occupying more than 300 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory since the beginning of the year, Russian Defense Minister Serhiy Shoigu said on Tuesday at a meeting with the leadership of the Armed Forces. EFE.

“After establishing control over an important stronghold of the enemy – Avdiivka, Russian troops continue to strengthen their positions in the Donetsk and Kupyan directions, occupying high positions of the Ukrainian army. Since the beginning of the year, 327 square kilometers have been liberated by Nazi troops,” Shoigu said, according to Agerpres.

According to his statements, last week the Russian army expelled the Ukrainian forces from the cities of Pobeda, Lastokyne, and Northern Donetsk region, which were illegally annexed by Russia in September 2022.

“As a result of the intensive and decisive actions of our military, the combat potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is decreasing. Every day since the beginning of the year, the enemy has lost an average of 800 soldiers and 120 combat vehicles, including foreign-made ones,” Shoigu added.

The Russian Defense Minister estimated the number of dead Ukrainian soldiers at more than 444,000 a few days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi called the number of 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers dead since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.

“After the failure of the (Ukrainian – no) counteroffensive, the command of the Ukrainian army is trying to stabilize the situation by sending the remaining reserves to prevent the front from collapsing,” Shoigu said, noting that Russia is destroying these reserves with “high-precision and long-range weapons” from the Ukrainian rear.

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