Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian military has suffered almost “catastrophic” losses since it launched its counteroffensive on various sectors of the front in Ukraine.
“The losses are approaching a level that can be described as catastrophic,” he said during a televised meeting with Russian war correspondents, saying that Russian losses “are ten times less.”
According to Vladimir Putin, Ukraine launched this “large-scale counteroffensive, using reserves prepared for that purpose” on June 4 on “several” sectors of the front.
He cited two sectors in southern Ukraine and one in the east, without mentioning Bakhmout where Ukrainian forces also reported offensives that allowed them to advance several hundred meters.
“The enemy was not successful in any of these areas”
“The enemy was unsuccessful in any of these areas. He suffered heavy losses,” Vladimir Putin continued, saying that half of these Ukrainian losses were “irreversible.”
He claimed that kyiv had lost “about 25 or maybe 30% of the equipment” that was supplied to Ukraine by the West, giving the figure of 160 tanks and more than 360 armored vehicles out of service.
On the Russian side, he admitted the loss of 54 tanks, “some of which need to be restored and repaired.”
Russia could have been “better prepared”
Vladimir Putin, for his part, admitted that Russia could have been “better prepared” for drone and artillery attacks on its territory from Ukraine, which have multiplied in recent weeks.
“Of course, it is necessary to reinforce the border (…) It was possible to be better prepared for this,” he said, after the raids and attacks targeted, in particular, the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine.
Kiev said late Monday that its offensive in southern and eastern Ukraine to liberate Russian-occupied territories was “difficult” but progressing, with a handful of villages in the country’s south recaptured.
Source: BFM TV
