Putin: Ukraine's counterattack efforts have failed

Mr Putin said that Ukraine had launched the expected counter-offensive, but had failed to achieve its goals and was suffering huge losses.

"It can be said that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has begun, as they mobilized their strategic reserves. However, the Ukrainian army has not achieved any goals in all combat zones," Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters in the city of Sochi on June 9.

Referring to the possibility that Ukraine's counter-offensive is bogged down, the Kremlin chief said that "the enemy's offensive efforts have so far failed." President Putin stressed that the Ukrainian army still has the potential to attack, despite suffering heavy losses in recent days.

President Putin meets the press in Sochi, Russia, on June 9. Photo: AFP — President Putin meets the press in Sochi, Russia, on June 9. Photo: *AFP*

"In campaigns, the attacking side usually suffers three times more damage than the defending side. In this case, the difference is far beyond the traditional figures. I won't give specific statistics, but the figures are impressive," he said.

The Russian President praised the morale and combat capabilities of Russian soldiers, appropriate command and combat organization, and the high performance of weapons developed by the country.

"The military leadership is assessing the situation and adjusting actions based on the realities of the battlefield. The Russian forces still lack modern weapons, but the defense industry is developing rapidly. All problems will be solved, the process of replenishing and accumulating modern weapons is going on intensively," Mr. Putin said.

Ukrainian officials have not commented on the information.

Russia destroys Ukraine's most modern Leopard tank — Ukrainian armored vehicles attacked by Russia in video released today. Video: *Telegram/Voin_Dv*

Two Ukrainian officials, including a close adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed to ABC News on June 7 that the long-rumored counteroffensive had begun. The Washington Post also cited four sources in the Ukrainian armed forces as saying that the counteroffensive had begun and that the army had intensified its attacks in the southeast.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said his country's forces had repelled several attacks by the Ukrainian army on the front line in Zaporizhzhia province, claiming Kiev had lost more than 3,000 soldiers and dozens of tanks and armored vehicles in the past three days.

Two senior US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on June 8 that Ukrainian forces had suffered casualties and lost heavy equipment in their efforts to break through Russian defense lines in the east in recent days. "The damage was quite significant," one official described the situation, saying that among the Ukrainian equipment destroyed were US-supplied MRAP mine-resistant armored vehicles.

Ukraine's potential counterattacks. Graphic: Times — Ukraine's potential counterattacks. Graphic: *Times*

"Russian forces put up a strong resistance. They were equipped with many types of firepower, deployed in a multi-layered defense system and protected by dense minefields, causing heavy losses to Ukrainian armored units," the other person commented.

Ukraine did not confirm the claims. "We do not have such information, nor do we comment on anonymous sources," a spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.

Vu Anh (According to RIA Novosti, Reuters )

Source link