Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on the afternoon of July 6 that in the previous 24 hours, Russian forces had carried out a precision weapons strike on deployment sites of Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries as well as Western armored storage facilities.
Mr. Konashenkov affirmed that all designated targets were destroyed and the enemy's strategic reserve suffered significant losses, according to TASS news agency.
Mr. Konashenkov also said that Russian forces repelled 10 Ukrainian attacks in the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, shot down two Su-25 fighter jets, intercepted four Storm Shadow missiles and four rockets of the high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS).
According to Mr. Konashenkov, Russian forces shot down 15 Ukrainian drones, attacked 85 artillery pieces at firing positions, and attacked personnel and equipment in 119 areas. As of the evening of July 6, there was no information about Ukraine's response.
Russia assembles units to counter Ukraine's counterattack?
The British Ministry of Defense said on July 6 that the Russian army had gathered units from important areas across Russia to deal with Ukraine's counterattack, according to The Kyiv Independent .
The British Ministry of Defense pointed out that Russia's defenses around the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine mainly consist of elite airborne regiments that are usually stationed in western Russia as a rapid reaction force in case of tension with NATO.
Ukrainian servicemen fire a 2S22 Bohdana self-propelled gun at Russian soldiers at a position near the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk region on July 5.
The British Ministry of Defense also noted that the 58th Joint Forces, instead of being tasked with protecting the Caucasus region, is now defending positions in the Zaporizhzhia province of southern Ukraine.
According to the British Ministry of Defense, the 5th Joint Forces and Russian Marines, which are holding the front around the Velyka Novosilka area in Donetsk province in eastern Ukraine, are usually stationed 7,000 km away near the Chinese border to balance Beijing's military power in the region.
Earlier in February, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told the BBC that 97% of all Russian troops were deployed in Ukraine. On July 5, the Chief of the British Armed Forces, Admiral Tony Radakin, said that Russia had lost half of its combat capability during the military campaign in Ukraine.
As of the evening of July 6, there was no information about Russia's reaction to the above assessment by the British side.
See also : British soldiers urged to prepare for war against Russia
Ukraine "carried out 70 UAV attacks on Crimea"
Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolay Patrushev said on July 6 that since the beginning of the year, Ukraine has carried out more than 70 attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the Crimean peninsula, according to TASS.
"Since the beginning of this year, the Ukrainian armed forces have carried out more than 70 drone attacks in Crimea alone. The territories of Krasnodar and Rostov regions have also been attacked and shelled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces," Patrushev said.
As of the evening of July 6, there was no information about Ukraine's reaction to Mr. Patrushev's accusations. Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.
See more : Ukraine 'has the military capability to retake Crimea', how will President Putin respond?
Ukraine surpasses Russia in tanks?
Bloomberg reported on July 6 that Ukraine may have surpassed Russia in the number of tanks while narrowing the gap in artillery and multiple launch rocket systems.
Bloomberg cited data from open-source research group Oryx, the British International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Germany-based Kiel Institute as saying the shift in the balance of arms stemmed from Russian losses and arms supplies from Kyiv's partners.
While Bloomberg stresses that the figures are estimates based on available data, Russia's tank fleet may have been halved, while Ukraine received 471 new tanks from its allies, with 286 more on the way.
Ukrainian servicemen sit on a T-80 tank captured from the Russian army, near the city of Bakhmut on June 19.
However, Bloomberg notes that Ukraine's losses are much less well documented, and there are no reliable figures on new Russian tanks being produced or taken out of storage.
According to Bloomberg, Russia had 3,400 tanks before the conflict, but that number has dropped to 1,400. Meanwhile, Ukraine had 987 tanks before the conflict and that number has increased to 1,500.
Russia and Ukraine are also currently equipped with 1,900 and 1,100 152/155mm guns, 841 and 427 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), respectively, according to Bloomberg data. This suggests that the Russian military has lost about 2,000 tanks, 400 guns and 260 MLRS since the start of the military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, according to The Kyiv Independent .
Such estimates are relatively conservative compared to figures from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Kyiv Independent, citing the latest Ukrainian military report, said Russia had lost 4,068 tanks, 4,310 artillery systems and 657 MLRS since the conflict began.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on July 6 that a total of 10,547 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, 1,135 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 5,356 field artillery pieces and mortars of Ukraine have been destroyed since Moscow launched its military operation in Ukraine.
See more : The truth about the Russian army losing the big tank battle in Ukraine
Former US officials secretly talked with Russia about Ukraine?
NBC News on July 6, citing multiple sources, revealed that a group of former senior US national security officials held secret talks with prominent Russians believed to be close to the Kremlin. In at least one case, they spoke with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with the aim of laying the groundwork for potential negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine.
On the agenda for the meeting are some of the thorniest issues in the war in Ukraine, such as the fate of Russian-held regions that Ukraine may never regain, and the search for a diplomatic way out acceptable to both sides.
"Boss" Wagner is in Russia
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who last month brokered a deal to end the Wagner armed rebellion, said mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had returned to Russia. "As for Prigozhin, he is in St. Petersburg. He is not on Belarusian territory," Lukashenko told CNN at a press conference on July 6.
“Where was Prigozhin this morning? He must have gone to Moscow,” Lukashenko said on June 27, confirming that Prigozhin was in Belarus after agreeing to end the uprising against Russian military leaders.
See more : Wagner boss makes tough statement after being accused by Russia of rebellion
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