Ukraine Wipes Out 150 Russian Troops in Precision Strikes—Kyiv

Ukraine's forces have said their targeted strikes have caused significant losses of Russian troops and equipment.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Thursday that the previous day it had hit three S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems in the city of Tokmak, in the Zaporizhzhya region, one of the four that Vladimir Putin has claimed he had annexed.

The update reported by Ukrainian media outlets said "in the Kherson region, as a result of targeted fire damage in the area of Tokarivka, the enemy's losses amounted to up to 150 people killed."

"Due to such cases, the soldiers of the occupying army have extremely low morale," the statement said, according to a translation. "They often desert and ignore orders, especially when mobilized."

Thursday's update from Kyiv's forces said in certain areas of hostilities, in particular in the Donetsk region, Russian units had received orders to temporarily stop offensive operations.

"The main reason is the extremely low morale and psychological state of the recruits, numerous acts of desertion among the mobilized, and non-fulfillment of combat orders," the General Staff said.

Ukraine's forces said their air force had carried out 32 strikes over the previous 24 hours, hitting more than 25 areas of concentration of weapons and military equipment and shot down four enemy helicopters and 26 unmanned aerial vehicles.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment. Newsweek is still trying to verify some of these claims.

British defense officials said on Thursday that Russian forces were likely to be trying to consolidate a new front line west of the village of Mylove in the Kherson region where heavy fighting is ongoing, "especially at the western end where Ukrainian advances mean Russia's flank is no longer protected by the Inhulets River."

The U.K. Ministry of Defense said most of the Russian troops on this front line were "understrength" airborne units, adding that Russian occupation authorities have likely ordered preparation for the evacuation of some civilians from Kherson.

"It is likely that they anticipate combat extending to the city of Kherson itself," the assessment concluded.

Meanwhile, the U.S. think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), said on Wednesday that Russian forces may have brought Iranian instructors to train Russian troops in the use of Shahed-136 drones.

It follows a report from the Ukrainian Resistance Center about how Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated personnel had been brought in to Dzhankoi in Crimea and Zaliznyi Port and Hladivtsi in Kherson Oblast.

It added that the Iranian instructors "directly control the launch of drones on civilian targets in Ukraine, including in Mykolaiv and Odesa oblasts."