Russia said on Tuesday it fended off Ukraine's attempts to get to the occupied eastern bank of the southern Kherson region, and claimed Kyiv's army had suffered "colossal losses."The Ukrainian army said last week it had pushed Russian forces back three to eight kilometers from the banks of the Dnipro River, which would have been their first meaningful advance in months."All attempts by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to conduct a landing operation in the Kherson area have failed," Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a roundtable meeting with officials."Thanks to the pre-emptive actions of our military...

the Ukrainian forces are suffering colossal losses," he added.AFP was not able to independently verify the military situation in the Kherson region.