Russian forces have "significantly weakened" the "combat potential" of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, according to Moscow's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.
The adversary had been dealt sensitive blows, Shoigu told a meeting of the military leadership in Moscow.
The minister also said that recent Ukrainian attacks in the Bakhmut and Soledar areas of Ukraine's Donetsk region had been successfully repelled.
Ukrainian attempts to break through Russian defence lines at Rabotyne and Verkhovoe in the Zaporizhzhya region had also failed, he said.
Shoigu's comments contradicted Ukrainian statements, according to which there had been successful advances there.
The minister also stressed that Russia has enough volunteers and contract soldiers to cover the tasks needed in the war on Ukraine. Their number now stands at 335,000 people, he said. In September alone, he said, more than 50,000 citizens signed a contract for military service.
A new mobilization is therefore not necessary, Shoigu said.
During last year's partial mobilization, overshadowed by protests, hundreds of thousands of Russians left the country for fear of being drafted and forced to fight in the Kremlin's war.
Now, though, many Russians are volunteering for the comparatively well-paid war effort due to the lack of other work.
Currently, 130,000 conscripts are also being called up in Russia, but they are not supposed to be deployed in war zones during their training. They can volunteer for military service after completing their basic military service, however.
In the field, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops near Kupyansk and also inspected a Leopard 2 tank in use there.
In a video posted on his Telegram channel on Tuesday, Zelensky can be seen awarding soldiers against the backdrop of a Leopard 2 battle tank.
"A western-made car is a western-made car," one of the soldiers said in praise of the German-made tank in conversation with Zelensky. In addition to the Leopard tanks, Zelensky also looked at CV-90 infantry fighting vehicles.
In its regular assessment, Ukraine's air defence command said on Tuesday its forces had brought down 29 drones and an Iskander missile in overnight aerial attacks in the east and south, with only two drones getting through.
The drones that got through were of Iranian type Shahed-136/131, it said. No casualties were reported.
The attacks were in the Dnipropetrovsk region in the east and in the Mykolaiv region near the Black Sea coast in the south.
Two buildings in the Dnipropetrovsk region were damaged by missile debris.
The Ukrainian authorities also reported renewed shelling from Russian artillery.
On the Russian side, Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the village of Klimovo, which lies across Ukraine's northern border, with cluster munitions.
Several homes were damaged, Bogomaz reported on Telegram. No injuries were reported.
Kiev anticipates an increase in aerial attacks aimed at its energy infrastructure for the coming winter. Ukraine's Western allies are seeking to boost the country's air defences in response.
