Ukraine's counterattack suffered heavy losses and failed to achieve strategic goals.
Russian leader Putin has just announced that Ukraine has failed to achieve its strategic goals in its counter-offensive. He said that in this campaign, Ukraine lost up to 186 tanks and 418 armored vehicles.
Speaking at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 16, Mr. Putin said: "There are some places where Ukrainian forces managed to reach the first line of defense, others did not."
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Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky. Photo: AP |
The Russian president said: "The problem revolves around the fact that they are using strategic reserves. The first goal is to break the Russian defense line. Second, to use these reserves to strengthen their positions on the territory. But they have not achieved any goals in any single sector of the front."
The Russian leader said Ukraine's losses were "huge", even "10 to 1" when compared to the Russian army.
According to President Putin, the defense industry is working 24/7 to provide enough weapons for the army, ready to double or triple the number of shifts.
"We have increased the production of weapons by 2.7 times. For the most in-demand equipment, this figure is 10 times," Putin said.
The Russian leader predicted that Ukraine would soon have no weapons of its own because these weapons and equipment were being systematically destroyed by Russia.
Meanwhile, President Zelensky commented that although Ukraine's counterattack encountered great difficulties, it still made small progress./.
