Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday considered the Ukrainian counter-offensive that began in early June as “aborted” and assured that the Russian army is advancing on all battle fronts.
“The main efforts of the past year were aimed at achieving the objectives of the special military operation. The most important thing was to call off the counter-offensive so announced by Ukraine and its NATO allies. The mission was successfully accomplished,” Shoigu said during a meeting with the General Staff of the Russian Army.
According to the Russian Defense Minister, the end of the Ukrainian counteroffensive was due to several factors: “the creation of an effective system of fortifications, the high combat capacity of all units, the reliability and effectiveness of Russian war equipment.”
Shoigu emphasized that “joint efforts at the rear and at the front helped Russian forces control the line of confrontation with the enemy.”
“The Russian army is continuously occupying more and more favorable positions and expanding control over new areas in all sectors of the front,” Shoigu explained, arguing that Russia is “consistently moving towards achieving the stated objectives for the special military operation” in Ukraine.
For two months, Russian forces have significantly intensified their actions in several sectors of the front, especially in the Donetsk region, where they are trying to encircle the city of Avdivka and have taken Marinka by storm, both important Ukrainian strongholds.
Russian forces also made discreet advances in the Kharkov region, trying to get closer to Kupiansk, a city from which they were forced to withdraw in September 2022.
Ukraine launched a counter-offensive in June, aiming to push Russian forces south and cut the land bridge connecting Russia to the Crimean peninsula annexed in 2014, but its efforts were frustrated by fierce resistance from the army commanded by Moscow.
Source: DN
