Russia again suffers major losses while attempting to bridge the Siversky Donets river in Donbas

The Russians have tried several times to lead pontoon crossings across the Siversky Donets - all destroyed the Armed Forces
The Russians have tried several times to lead pontoon crossings across the Siversky Donets - all destroyed the Armed Forces

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A General Staff press release says that Russians were trying to move their military personnel and armored vehicles across a pontoon bridge over the Siversky Donets river.

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“Crossing the river by Russians is an impossible mission, thanks to soldiers of Ukraine’s 30th mechanized brigade and the servicemen of other army units, the General Staff said.

“Our units covered the Russians with shelling.”

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The Ukrainian shelling resulted in heavy losses for the Russians, amounting to at least one tactical battalion group, the General Staff said.

The Ukrainian army has already destroyed several pontoon bridges that the Russian invasion forces have been trying to construct in order to be able to cross the Siversky Donets river in force.

On May 16, the New York Times, a newspaper, reported that Russian army had lost 80 units of military equipment while trying to cross Siversky Donets. Moreover, 480 Russian soldiers died in that attempt.

Nevertheless Russia is still pursuing its plans to occupy the whole territory of Luhansk Oblast. Some of it has been controlled by the Russian Federation since 2014 through a sham statelet - the so-called “Luhansk People’s Republic.”