Russian army reels after Ukraine wipes out over 300 troops in brutal attack | World | News
As clashes intensify on many fronts, the Ukrainian army continues to inflict heavy losses on Vladimir Putin’s troops. Russia is making intense efforts to make a significant breakthrough on the battlefield before the onset of winter.
While all eyes were on the besieged city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, Kremlin forces also increased their attacks in the south. While Ukrainian forces were being pushed to their limits, Russian troops tried to take advantage of the gaps in Kiev’s southern defense line. Over the past week, Russian forces have made “rapid progress” in the Zaporozhye region.
According to a Ukrainian military blogger, the Russians “passed the entire southern defense line along the Dnipropetrovsk region and advanced towards Zaporizhia on the right flank.”
Researchers from the US think tank Institute for the Study of War also drew attention to Russia’s territorial gains in the south over the weekend.
In their latest war bulletin, they wrote: “Geolocation images released on November 15 show Russian forces raising flags at Yablukove (northeast of Hulyaipole), indicating that Russian forces have likely captured the settlement.”
However, Ukraine’s Southern Army launched a brutal counter-offensive and inflicted heavy losses on the Russians in just 24 hours of fighting.
“The other day, the Southern Defense Forces destroyed more than 300 invaders and more than 50 pieces of enemy military equipment, including the shooting down of the Tor-M2 surface-to-air missile system,” he wrote in his Telegram channels.
He added: “The Southern Defense Forces destroyed 26 Shahed-136 UAVs in a nighttime drone attack. Southern Ukraine defenders detected and destroyed 9 enemy UAV operator teams.
Meanwhile, violent clashes continue in and around Pokrovsk, the important logistics center of the Ukrainian army in the east.
The city, which has been subjected to intense Russian attacks for 21 months, is on the verge of being captured.
Ukraine has mobilized special forces units to stop Russia’s advance and argues that the fight is not over yet.
The Kiev army says it continues active offensive operations in the Ocheretyne direction (covering the Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad and Dobropillia regions).
“Since the beginning of this week, our troops have inflicted heavy losses on Russian forces: 755 invaders were neutralized; 1 tank, 11 armored vehicles, 3 artillery systems, 2 vehicles, 1 special equipment and 12 motorcycles/ATVs were destroyed or significantly damaged,” the General Staff said. he said.
“Enemy losses in the Ocheretyne sector from August 21, 2025 to date have reached approximately 19,270 Russian personnel and 1,493 weapons and military equipment.
“Ukrainian forces also destroyed more than 5,770 enemy UAVs of various types. In total, during the operation, 189 km² of area was liberated as of November 15, 2025, and 259.4 km² of the Pokrovsk region was completely cleared of enemy sabotage groups.”
