Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Saturday called for more tanks to be produced to meet the needs of the army in Ukraine amid the Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Shoigu, who visited a military plant in the Omsk region (Western Siberia), “set itself the goal of further increasing tank production,” the Russian army said in a statement quoted by the French agency AFP.
The minister justified that new tanks are needed “to meet the needs of the Russian armed forces fulfilling the tasks of the special military operation” in Ukrainesaid the statement.
Russia is officially labeling the war against Ukraine, which began with the invasion of February 24, 2022, as a “special military operation”.
Shoigu also stressed the need to improve the safety of armored vehicles and their crews, the military said in the statement.
Shoigu’s comments come amid a Ukrainian counter-offensive aimed at retaking Russian territory in Ukraine.
Moscow continues to insist that the counter-offensive failed, while Kiev claims to have liberated some towns and about 100 square kilometers, mainly on the southern front.
British intelligence today admitted that Russian forces had “gained a temporary advantage in southern Ukraine, especially with attack helicopters using long-range missiles against ground targets”.
In the British Defense Ministry’s daily review, analysts in London noted that Russia has bolstered helicopter power in southern Ukraine since the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive.
“Images show that more than 20 Russian helicopters were deployed at Berdyansk airport, some 100 kilometers behind the frontline,” they added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Ukrainian forces failed in the counter-offensive, recording “very heavy casualties”.
Putin also believed that Ukraine will not be able to fight for “a long time” due to a lack of military equipment, despite Western supplies.
Western military analysts have said Kiev has not yet thrown most of its troops on the counter-offensive, AFP said.
Ukraine’s Western allies have supplied Kiev with military equipment to fight Russian forces.
Western allies also imposed sanctions on Russian economic interests to try to reduce Moscow’s ability to finance the war effort.
The conflict plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The number of civilian and military casualties is unknown, but several sources, including the UN, have admitted it will be high.
Source: DN
