US General Assesses Russian Forces During Ukraine Counterattack

The Ukrainian army announced on June 15 that it had regained control of more than 100 ^square kilometers of territory in a counterattack against Russian forces, according to Reuters.

"We are ready to continue fighting to regain our territory even with our bare hands," Ukrainian Deputy Chief of the General Staff Oleksii Hromov told a news conference, saying Russian troops had been forced out of seven settlements in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, and the southern Zaporizhzhia region.

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The Ukrainian military also said its forces had entered the area around the Russian-controlled city of Bakhmut and near the city of Vuhledar, also in Donetsk, but fighting was fierce.

A Ukrainian serviceman takes part in a military exercise in Zaporizhzhia on June 15.

Also on June 15, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army General Mark Milley, assessed that Ukraine was making steady progress in its counterattack, but the price to pay could be high, according to Reuters.

"Ukraine has begun to attack and they are making steady progress. This is a very difficult fight. It is a very violent fight and it could take a considerable amount of time and be very costly," Milley said at a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley speaks at a press conference in Brussels on June 15.

Milley praised the leadership, skill and morale of the Ukrainian forces and compared them to the Russians. “Their leadership is disjointed, their troops are not in good shape, and they are sitting in defensive positions; many of them don’t even know why they are there,” Milley said of the Russian forces.

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As of the evening of June 15, there was no information about Russia's reaction to the above statement from Ukraine as well as General Milley's assessment. Russia did not acknowledge Ukraine's advances and said that the Ukrainian army had suffered heavy casualties, according to Reuters.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov announced on the evening of June 15 that in the previous 24 hours, Russian forces had conducted many attacks and repelled seven Ukrainian attacks in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, killing nearly 500 Ukrainian soldiers, destroying six tanks, several armored fighting vehicles and artillery systems of the enemy, according to TASS.

Mr. Konashenkov also said that Russian forces had shot down two Su-27 fighter jets, 25 drones and five rockets from Ukraine’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Uragan multiple launch rocket systems. As of the evening of June 15, there was no information about Ukraine’s reaction to Mr. Konashenkov’s statement.

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Russia used 4 bombers to launch missiles into Ukraine?

In a war update on the morning of June 15, the Ukrainian Air Force announced that Ukrainian air defense forces had shot down all 20 Shahed-136/131 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launched by Russian forces in the early hours of the same day, according to The Kyiv Independent .

Russia also launched several Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles using four Tu-95 strategic bombers based in the Caspian Sea, according to the update. One of the missiles was destroyed and the remaining missiles targeted two industrial buildings in the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropterovsk Oblast, causing a fire. The fire was extinguished by dawn on June 15.

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Dnipropterovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak said one civilian was injured in the attack and was taken to a local hospital.

As of last night, there was no information about Russia's reaction to the above statement and accusations from Ukraine. Moscow has denied that Russia's military campaign in Ukraine does not target civilian targets.

See more : What did the White House say after Ukraine fired HIMARS, causing heavy losses to Russia?

Ukraine to receive 14 more Leopard 2 tanks?

Ukraine will receive 14 more Leopard 2 tanks from Western partners, funded by Denmark and the Netherlands, according to the Handelsblatt daily on June 15, citing NATO sources.

The tanks will be supplied and refurbished by German defense industry company Rheinmetall, according to The Kyiv Independent citing information from Handelsblatt .

In addition, the US, UK, Netherlands and Denmark will cooperate to send air defense equipment including hundreds of missiles to Ukraine to help the country fight Russian forces, according to Reuters citing a joint statement of the four countries on June 15.

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The delivery of the equipment has begun and will be completed “within weeks”, according to a joint statement issued by the British government , ahead of a meeting of the US-led Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Brussels.

On the same day, the Danish Ministry of Defense announced that Denmark and Norway will provide an additional 10,500 artillery shells to Ukraine, according to The Kyiv Independent .

The two countries will assemble 9,000 artillery shells to send to Ukraine. In addition, Denmark alone will provide 1,500 complete artillery shells and 500 grenades to Ukraine.

Denmark and Norway have previously had similar cooperation in jointly assembling artillery shells for Ukraine. In April, the two sides pledged to provide 8,000 artillery shells to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military uses more than 90,000 155mm artillery shells per month, according to The Kyiv Independent, citing US Department of Defense officials.

See more : Mr. Putin mentioned the number of artillery shells produced by the US, revealing Russia's tank plan

US to deliver depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine along with Abrams tanks

Will the US send depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine?

Some sources say the US government plans to send Ukraine depleted uranium ammunition capable of effectively penetrating the armor of Russian tanks.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) this week quoted several unnamed US officials as saying that the administration of US President Joe Biden plans to provide Ukraine with depleted uranium ammunition to equip Abrams tanks that Washington transfers to Kyiv.

See also : Following in the footsteps of the UK, the US will transfer depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine

Mine warning in Ukraine

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced that 20 children have been killed and 69 injured by mines and other objects in Ukraine since the fighting broke out on February 24, 2022, according to The Kyiv Independent . UNICEF announced these figures at a meeting with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on June 14.

UNICEF says that as the conflict continues, children in Ukraine have no chance of safely spending their free time during the holidays. In addition to other threats that children may face during the summer holidays, Ukrainian children need to be careful of landmines, according to UNICEF.

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Additionally, in a Facebook post on June 14, UNICEF warned that the threat from explosive objects is serious "because Ukraine is one of the most mined and contaminated countries in the world."

According to Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, nearly a third of Ukraine's territory was mined as of February 2022. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine estimates that it will take Ukraine at least 10 years to clear the mines after the conflict ends.

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