The Russian army has destroyed 16 German-made Leopard tanks. The Russian news agency TASS wrote this based on statements by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu. Shoigu held a conference call with military commanders today.

“In the southern direction of Donetsk and Zaporizhia alone, where Ukrainian armed formations carried out unsuccessful attacks, Russian forces have destroyed 15 aircraft, three helicopters and 920 pieces of armor, including 16 Leopard tanks. “In fact, 100 percent of this type of tank is supplied by Poland and Portugal,” said the Minister of Finance.

Russian armed forces continue to effectively inflict damage on the enemy through weapons, which significantly reduces its offensive potential, Shoigu further said at the meeting. According to the minister, Ukrainian forces have lost around 2,500 different heavy weapons since June 4. In addition, Russian air defense forces are said to have shot down 158 HIMARS missiles and 25 Storm Shadow cruise missiles last month.

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“The enemy has not achieved its objectives in any sector of the front line, which is a testament to the skill of the Russian fighters and the clearly too high expectations of much-touted Western weapons,” Shoigu said.

According to the Reuters news agency, Shoigu also spoke for the first time today about Wagner’s rebellion against exiled mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. Shoigu said the aborted uprising of the Wagner mercenary group had no impact on Russia’s “special military operations” in Ukraine. According to Shoigu, Prigozhin’s plan to “destabilize Russia” failed because of the “loyalty” of his troops.

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