The Russian Ministry of Defense announced today, Friday, that the Ukrainian armed forces have lost more than 43,000 soldiers since they launched a counterattack in June.

"Since the beginning of the Kiev offensive, more than 4.9 thousand pieces of various weapons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been destroyed on the contact line," the ministry added in a statement.

It added, "Ukraine lost, within two months of its counterattack, 747 field artillery, including 76 American-made M777 artillery systems, and 84 self-propelled artillery made by Poland, Germany, the United States, and France."

It explained, "Since the beginning of the attack, the Ukrainian forces have lost more than 1,800 tanks and armored fighting vehicles, including 25 Leopard tanks, on the contact line."

In another statement, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the Russian forces had taken control of advanced positions near the towns of Olshana, Petropavlovka and Tokarevka on the Kharkov axis.

The statement confirmed that the active measures of the Russian forces succeeded in repelling four attacks by the Ukrainian forces in the Novoselovskoye region of Luhansk.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency