Zelensky: Counteroffensive Not Going Well, Putin: Ukrainians Know They Have No Chance'

Counteroffensive not going well – Zelensky

RT

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has admitted that the long-promised counteroffensive against Russian forces has not delivered the results that some Western observers expected. Amid mounting losses, Zelensky insisted that he would not discuss peace with Moscow.

“Some people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results now. It’s not,” he told the BBC on Wednesday, admitting that advances by Ukrainian troops have been “slower than desired.”

“Whatever some might want, including attempts to pressure us, with all due respect, we will advance on the battlefield the way we deem best,” he added.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive began on June 4 with a failed attack on Russian positions near Donetsk, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Wave after wave of attacks followed along the Donetsk and Zaporozhye sectors of the front line, all of which Russian forces have managed to withstand while destroying hundreds of Western-supplied tanks and armored vehicles, and taking thousands of Ukrainian troops out of action, according to the ministry.

While Zelensky told the BBC that his forces have managed to capture eight villages, Ukrainian troops have yet to penetrate even the first of Russia’s multi-layered defensive lines. With a warren of trenches, minefields, and fortifications in their path and Russian artillery and air support operating freely, Ukraine has lost 7,500 men and 30% of its Western-supplied tanks and armored vehicles, the Kremlin estimated last Wednesday.

Daily reports from Moscow have since added at least another 2,000 men to the casualty count, with Ukraine said to have lost over 1,000 soldiers and 20 tanks in a single day of fighting over the weekend.

Zelensky is reportedly under pressure to score some battlefield successes for his Western patrons, and he acknowledged to the BBC that “victories on the battlefield are necessary” to resolve the conflict in Kiev’s favor. However, he added that “no matter how far we advance in our counteroffensive, we will not agree to a frozen conflict because that is war, that is a prospectless development for Ukraine.”

Zelensky has repeatedly vowed to drive Russian troops out of the four formerly Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye – that voted last year to join Russia. He also insists on reclaiming Crimea, which joined Russia after a referendum in 2014. American, British, and other NATO officials have backed his refusal to “freeze” the conflict, but many admit that Ukrainian forces could never hope to mount an attack on Crimea.

“Behind the scenes, many Western military analysts express serious doubts about the success of the Ukrainian adventure,” Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) chief Sergey Naryshkin said on Monday. “Without going into details, I’ll say that the tasks announced by the Kiev regime are assessed as unachievable” by foreign experts, he added.

Ukrainian counteroffensive not meeting US expectations

RT

Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive against Russian forces is “not meeting expectations on any front,”Western and US officials told CNN on Thursday. Ukrainian troops and armor are proving “vulnerable” to Russian minefields, missiles, and air power, they added. 

“Russian lines of defense have been proving well-fortified, making it difficult for Ukrainian forces to breach them,” CNN reported, paraphrasing the anonymous officials. “In addition, Russian forces have had success bogging down Ukrainian armor with missile attacks and mines and have been deploying air power more effectively.”

According to one official, the Russian defense has proven more “competent” than expected. However, the source insisted that the US is still “optimistic” that Ukraine will turn the failing operation around, and that Washington will re-evaluate the offensive next month.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive began on June 4 with a failed attack on Russian positions near Donetsk, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Waves of attacks followed along the Donetsk and Zaporozhye sectors of the front line, all of which the entrenched Russian forces have managed to withstand, the ministry claimed.

The attacks have reportedly cost the Ukrainian military dearly. With their dwindling number of air defense systems weakened by Russian drones and missiles, Kiev’s forces have been unable to counter Russian jets and helicopters. Relying on armored thrusts through minefields, Ukraine lost over 13,000 troops and more than 800 tanks and armored vehicles between June 4 and 21, Russian Security Council chief Nikolay Patrushev stated on Thursday.

However, one of the officials cited by CNN claimed that “Ukrainian casualties are heavy, though not as bad as the Russians are trying to portray.”

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky told the BBC on Wednesday that progress on the battlefield has been “slower than desired,” but vowed that his troops will eventually drive Russian forces out of the four formerly Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye – that voted last year to join Russia. He also insists on reclaiming Crimea, which joined Russia after a referendum in 2014. 

Zelensky is reportedly under pressure to score battlefield successes for his Western patrons, and CNN wrote that the counteroffensive “is seen as crucial to determining who ultimately wins the war.” 

Ukrainians know they have ‘no chance’ against Russia – Putin

RT

Ukraine has stopped major offensive operations after realizing its forces could not win, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

“Thanks to the courage and heroism of our soldiers and the readiness of commanders to repulse any aggressive actions against Russia, it seems to me that the enemy has no chance. They understand this, which is why they stopped,” Putin told journalist Pavel Zarubin at the Kremlin.

The Ukrainian military launched its long-heralded offensive on June 4, using several brigades trained in the West and equipped with Leopard tanks and Bradley armored vehicles, among others. 

“Oddly enough, it is a slow burn at the moment, because the enemy is sustaining serious personnel and equipment losses,” Putin said. “As of early this morning, our men had taken out 245 tanks and about 678 armored vehicles of various types, to say nothing of the enemy’s casualties, which are substantial.” 

Kiev’s forces are currently in the process of rebuilding their brigades, which took serious losses, Putin explained, but fear that taking more casualties at this rate will eliminate the combat capability of not just their strategic reserve, but their entire military. 

At this moment, Putin said, “offensive operations are not ongoing,” only elements of combat such as shelling and reconnaissance in force.

Retired general Andrey Kartapolov, who commanded the Russian expedition in Syria in 2016-17, has also estimated that Ukraine will exhaust its offensive capability by the end of June at this rate, with 40% of its force in the theater already rendered combat ineffective.

Putin’s comments came at the reception for the top cadets of Russian military academies and officer schools, also attended by Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu. The Russian president told the newly minted officers that Moscow was committed to providing the armed forces with all the weapons and supplies they needed.

Shoigu impressed upon the new officers the gravity of the moment, saying that Russia’s geopolitical future was at stake, with the West arming Ukraine and waging an all-out war against Russia through sanctions and subversion of neighboring countries.