Ukraine says it killed some 50 Russian soldiers in artillery attack

This marks a rare instance of Ukraine claiming to have inflicted major casualties in a single incident.

 A Ukrainian serviceman walks near captured Russian tanks with installed Ukrainian flags, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the town of Izium, recently liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine September 19, 2022. (photo credit: REUTERS/GLEB GARANICH)
A Ukrainian serviceman walks near captured Russian tanks with installed Ukrainian flags, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the town of Izium, recently liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine September 19, 2022.
(photo credit: REUTERS/GLEB GARANICH)

Around 50 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in a long-range Ukrainian artillery attack, Kyiv's military said on Wednesday in a rare instance of Ukraine claiming to have inflicted major casualties in a single incident.

In a Facebook post, the armed forces general staff said Russia suffered the losses on Tuesday when Ukrainian forces shelled the village of Denezhnykove, 70 km (45 miles) behind front lines in the eastern province of Luhansk.

It gave no further detail. The Russian defense ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment, and Reuters was unable to independently verify the Ukrainian military's account.

The United States has provided Ukraine with advanced rocket systems capable of hitting targets up to 80 km away.

 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to people after Russia's retreat from Kherson, in central Kherson, Ukraine November 14, 2022. (credit: VALENTYN OGIRENKO/REUTERS)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to people after Russia's retreat from Kherson, in central Kherson, Ukraine November 14, 2022. (credit: VALENTYN OGIRENKO/REUTERS)

Last month Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said 23 of his soldiers had been killed and another 58 wounded in a Ukrainian artillery barrage.