MOSCOW. June 3 (Interfax) - The Russian central group of forces has moved farther into Ukrainian defense lines, while the western, eastern and southern groups have improved their positions over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
"Units from the central group of forces moved farther into enemy lines and struck detachments of three mechanized brigades, an assault brigade and an air assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, alongside a territorial defense brigade and a National Guard brigade near the communities of Novonikolayevka, Novoekonomicheskoye, Yablonovka, Novotoretskoye, Alekseyevka, Petrovskoye and Poltavka in the Donetsk People's Republic," the ministry said in a statement.
Ukrainian forces lost up to 535 troops, three armored combat vehicles, four vehicles and six artillery systems over the past 24 hours, the statement said.
The western group of forces took better lines and positions, the eastern group improved its tactical position, and the southern group improved its frontlines in the past 24 hours, it said.
Units from the western group of forces hit detachments of two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in addition to two territorial defense brigades near the communities of Kupyansk and Petrovka in the Kharkov region and Volchy Yar, Yampol and Torskoye in the DPR, it said.
"The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 220 troops, three armored combat vehicles, 16 vehicles, and four artillery systems. Two ammo depots were destroyed," the statement said.
Units from the eastern group of forces struck troops and hardware of a mechanized brigade and a mountain assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as two territorial defense brigades near the communities of Tolstoi and Poddubnoye in the DPR and Malinovka and Poltavka in the Zaporozhye region, it said.
"The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 175 troops, two armored combat vehicles, four vehicles, three artillery systems, and three electronic warfare systems," the statement said.
Units from the southern group of forces hit troops and hardware of two mechanized brigades, an assault brigade and an airmobile brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a territorial defense brigade near the communities of Seversk, Serebryanka, Nikiforovka, Pazeno and Konstantinovka in the DPR, it said.
"The enemy lost more than 250 troops, eight armored combat vehicles, seven vehicles, four artillery systems, and four ammo depots," the ministry said.
Units from the Dnepr group of forces struck detachments of a mechanized brigade and a coast guard brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the communities of Chervonaya Krinitsa, Kamenskoye and Stepovoye in the Zaporozhye region and Nikolskoye in the Kherson region. In the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces lost more than 75 troops, 13 vehicles, five electronic wrfare systems and reconnaissance stations, and an ammo depot, it said.