Almost 500 Russian soldiers were killed or injured during the failed river crossing in eastern Ukraine, tvp.info reported, citing The New York Times.
Ukrainian fighters also destroyed some 80 pieces of Russian equipment during the attack, according to tvp.info.
The battle of the Donets River
The battle took place on May 11, when Russia sent 550 troops from the 74th Motorised Rifle Brigade of the 41st Combined Arms Army to cross the Donets River, tvp.info said.
The unit was supposed to traverse the river at Bilohorivka in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region, it added.
A successful manoeuvre would have allowed the Russian army to encircle Ukrainian forces near Rubizhne, according to the Polish website.
However, Ukraine’s artillery shelled several Russian pontoon bridges and decimated the Russian troops, turning their equipment around the river into a pile of smoking wreckage, tvp.info reported.
Big blow to Russia
Russia’s bloody defeat at Bilohorivka is an even bigger blow to the Kremlin than the sinking of its Moskva cruiser, according to Ukraine’s Unian news agency.
The debacle also sparked strong criticism from Russia’s war bloggers, who accuse army commanders of incompetence, tvp.info said.
A blogger with 2.1 million followers on the social-messaging app Telegram attacked the “stupidity” of the Russian military leadership, according to tvp.info.
Another popular blogger described the commanders’ performance during the failed river crossing as “direct sabotage,” tvp.info reported.
Monday is day 82 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: tvp.info, nytimes.com, bbc.com