The Zaparozhye nuclear power plant is seen in the background of the shallow Kakhovka Reservoir after the dam collapse, in Energodar, June 9, 2023 (AP)

The Russian Armed Forces successfully repelled two Ukrainian attacks on the village of Mala Tokmachka in Zaparozhe over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.

"Two enemy attacks were repelled near the village of Mala Tokmachka, Zaporizhzhia Region, during which two tanks, 10 infantry fighting vehicles, and two armored fighting vehicles were hit," the ministry said.

Ukraine's ambitious counteroffensive against Russia - which it launched in a bid to take the lands captured by the country through the war effort - is proving to be quite a difficult task.

The frontline is laden with mines and Russia's advanced defense systems, combined with the lack of air cover on Ukraine's end, have hampered Kiev's effort to take back any land.

After Ukraine's first attacks yielded mixed results, or mostly Ukrainian forces halted their attacks in recent days as commanders drew lessons from the past two weeks and tried to figure out how to penetrate Russian lines without suffering heavy losses, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Ukraine has been hyping its counteroffensive attack, since last year. Although the attack was intended for spring, it was moved to the summer after Ukraine blamed the delay on a lack of weapons.

The West has been urged to deliver progressively heavier weapons, including tanks, drones, and fighter planes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters last week that the Ukrainian "counteroffensive" in the special military operation zone has begun and that Kiev is resorting to its strategic reserves.

Additionally, the Russian Defense Ministry reported days earlier that the Ukrainian army lost more than 800 soldiers, 20 tanks, 4 infantry vehicles, and 15 armored combat vehicles withing 24 hours.

The ministry detailed that "enemy losses in the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions amounted to more than 800 Ukrainian militaries, 20 tanks, four infantry fighting vehicles, 15 armored combat vehicles, two US-made M777 artillery systems, Msta-B and D-30 howitzers, as well as a Grad multiple rocket launcher combat vehicle."

Ukraine has lost over 205 military personnel in the Donetsk direction in the last 24 hours, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.