Ukraine tweaks tactics, Russia says Wagner incident has no impact

Ukrainian soldiers check a map at a base near the front line in Zaporizhzhia province.

The Kyiv Independent on June 25 quoted an intelligence report from the British Ministry of Defense saying that Ukrainian forces had refined their tactics after the first two weeks of the counterattack, in preparation for deeper attacks on Russian bases.

Accordingly, Ukraine is making "gradual but steady tactical progress in key areas", with the main counter-offensive operations taking place along three axes in the southern and eastern regions.

Ukrainian officials also confirmed advances in the south and east, while Russia said Kyiv's counter-offensive had failed and made no progress.

On June 24, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that the country's forces had advanced in "all directions", starting from the Bakhmut area in Donetsk province to the Vasylivka area in the west of Zaporizhzhia province.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Army Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said the main force intended to participate in the counterattack has not yet been deployed to the battlefield.

Wagner affair has no impact on war?

TASS news agency on June 25 quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that the armed rebellion of Wagner mercenaries in Russia will not affect the situation of the special military campaign that the country is deploying in Ukraine.

"The special military operation continues, our fighters on the front line have shown great heroism, they are deflecting the counterattack of the Ukrainian armed forces extremely effectively. And the operation will continue," he said in response to a reporter's question.

In another development, Reuters reported that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko flew to Beijing to hold talks with the Chinese side on "international issues".

According to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on June 25, Mr. Rudenko discussed with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang his views on the relationship between the two countries, as well as "international and regional issues of common concern."

It is not clear when Mr. Rudenko arrived in Beijing, or whether the trip was related to the Wagner rebellion.

Regarding the riot, Mr. Peskov told reporters that the criminal case against Mr. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the private military group Wagner, will be dropped.

"People ask me what will happen to Mr. Prigozhin. A criminal case against him will be dropped, while he will go to Belarus," TASS quoted Mr. Peskov as saying.

A Kremlin spokesman said Russian President Vladimir Putin had assured him that Mr Prigozhin would be able to leave Russia for Belarus.

Mr Prigozhin said Wagner forces had halted the rebellion and turned around the convoys, withdrawing to field camps.

The Kremlin said Mr Lukashenko volunteered to mediate because he had known Mr Prigozhin for about 20 years.

In addition, Mr. Peskov said that some Wagner group fighters, who decided not to listen to the call for rebellion of leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, will be able to sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry.

See also: Russian military to sign contracts with some Wagner members

Germany to supply Gepard guns to Ukraine

According to The Kyiv Independent , German Brigadier General Christian Freuding said on June 25 that Germany will provide Ukraine with 45 more Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns by the end of this year, with 15 of them expected to arrive in the next few weeks.

In an interview with Welt am Sonntag , General Freuding, head of the German Defense Ministry's Ukraine Situation Center, said Ukraine still needs more air defense systems, even as its allies are "doing everything" to provide what they can.

In addition, he said Germany will also send two more IRIS-T SLM air defense systems to Ukraine by the end of this year and four more systems in 2024. The Gepard air defense artillery system will be provided in cooperation with the United States.

Berlin has delivered 34 Gepard guns, including some 6,000 rounds of ammunition, to Kyiv since the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, with the most recent delivery taking place in early March.

The German embassy in Ukraine said the Gepard guns helped Ukraine defend itself against Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones targeting Ukrainian cities and key infrastructure.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/chien-su-toi-256-ukraine-tinh-chinh-chien-thuat-nga-noi-vu-wagner-khong-anh-huong-185230625175856508.htm