MOSCOW. June 18 (Interfax) - Russia's southern group of forces has improved its front lines, while the western and eastern groups of forces have taken better positions, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
"Units from the southern group of forces have improved their front lines and struck troops and hardware of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' 79th Air Assault Brigade, 81st Airmobile Brigade and 80th and 93rd Mechanized brigades near Grigorovka, Katerinovka, Predtechino and Serebryanka in the Donetsk People's Republic [DPR]," the ministry said.
The Ukrainian army lost up to 665 troops, two armored combat vehicles, including U.S.-made M113 armored personnel carriers, two trucks, a D-30 howitzer and a field ammo depot, it said.
"Units from the western group of forces have taken better positions and struck detachments of the Ukrainian 163rd Mechanized Brigade, Third Tank Brigade, and Third Assault Brigade near Novovodyanoye in the Lugansk People's Republic, Peschanoye in the Kharkov region, and Torskoye in the DPR," the ministry said.
Russian forces repelled four Ukrainian counterattacks, and the Ukrainian army lost up to 455 troops, a Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, and a U.S.-made M119 gun over the day, it said.
"Units form the eastern group of forces have taken better positions and struck troops and hardware of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the 108th and 123rd Territorial Defense brigades, and the 21st National Guard Brigade near Zaliznichnoye in the Zaporozhye region, and Dobrovolnoye, Neskuchnoye and Oktyabr in the DPR," it said.
In the group's zone of responsibility, the Ukrainian army lost up to 155 troops, an armored combat vehicle, a pickup truck, a Krab self-propelled artillery system, two foreign-made howitzers, and an Anklav-N ECM station, it said.
"Units from the northern group of forces struck troops and hardware of the 57th Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the 36th Marine Brigade, and the 120th and 125th Territorial Defense brigades near Volchansk, Volokhovskoye, Sinelnikovo and Liptsy in the Kharkov region," the ministry said.
Two Ukrainian counterattacks were repelled over the day, it said.
The Ukrainian army lost up to 130 troops, two armored combat vehicles, including a U.S.-made Stryker APC, two howitzers, and two self-propelled artillery systems, it said.
"Units from the central group of forces have improved their tactical position and struck detachments of the 68th Jaeger Brigade, the 144th Infantry Brigade, and the 24th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the 109th Territorial Defense Brigade near Vozdvizhenka, Kamyshevka, Novgorodskoye and Toretsk in the DPR," it said.
Four counterattacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian 142nd Infantry Brigade and 23rd and 110th Mechanized brigades were repelled, it said.
In the central group of forces' zone of responsibility, the Ukrainian army lost up to 355 troops, two MaxxPro armored combat vehicles, two trucks, four howitzers, a Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, two U.S.-made M119 guns, and a Rapira gun, it said.
"Units from the Dnepr group of forces struck detachments of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade, the 37th Marine Brigade, and the 121st Territorial Defense Brigade near Daryevka and Osokorovka in the Kherson region and Nesteryanka in the Zaporozhye region," it said.
"The Ukrainian army lost up to 80 troops, six trucks, three 152mm D-20 howitzers, a 122mm D-30 howitzer, and a U.S.-made 105mm M119 gun," the ministry said.