There was no time to arm
The counterattack, widely announced by Kiev, did not produce the expected results, as the Western countries that supported Ukraine in the conflict with Russia did not supply weapons in time. Such a statement was made on his page by Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. twitter.
“Time is always important. <…> The time spent convincing our partners to provide the necessary weapons was reflected in the specific Russian fortifications, deep-dug defensive line and minefields built during this period,” he wrote.
similar opinion expression Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba in an interview with The Telegraph. According to him, the biggest problem facing the Ukrainian side is “the stability of the supply of artillery ammunition and in sufficient quantities”. According to him, another important problem of the counteroffensive is Russia’s dominance in the air.
current mood
According to Podolyak, a reasonable and balanced approach is needed at the moment for the country’s army to break through the Russian front. Also, the adviser to the head of the Presidential office of Ukraine urged not to expect quick results from Kiev.
Now, according to him, the Armed Forces of the country continue to conduct offensive operations in different directions of the front and try to save the lives of the soldiers. He described the current actions of the Ukrainian army at the front as “creating operations to prepare the battlefield.”
According to him, command is based on military science and reason, not on “tribune supporters”. In this regard, he urged “not to wait for action and not to stock up on popcorn”. As Podolyak emphasizes, “the counterattack is not the new season of the Netflix series.”
A few days ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted in an interview with the BBC that the Ukrainian Armed Forces counteroffensive was progressing “slower than we would like”. As the Ukrainian leader emphasized, some perceive the attack of the Kiev troops as a movie made in Hollywood and expect immediate results.
promise to help
Just in the last week, many countries have made statements about arms transfers to Ukraine. Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins has promised to send a group of combat helicopters to Ukraine. The Portuguese Ministry of Defense has announced a new military equipment package for Ukraine, consisting of 14 M113 armored personnel carriers and a series of 105 mm howitzers, 180 tons of ammunition and five armored medical support vehicles.
The Estonian government will send Ukraine a field hospital, protective equipment against drones, as well as equipment for doctors and hunters. The US Congress House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Relations adopted the resolution on the transfer of ATACMS operational-tactical missile systems to Ukraine. The Norwegian and Danish Ministries of Defense have agreed to send an additional 9,000 artillery shells to Ukraine.
Some countries have publicly refused to help. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for example, said that Tel Aviv had decided to avoid military aid to Ukraine. Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said that the republic does not plan to hand over its weapons to Ukraine. Earlier in the week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance’s arsenals were exhausted and needed to be reinstated as soon as possible.
repelled all attacks
On June 16, St. Petersburg International Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that the Russian army has so far destroyed about 30% of the armored vehicles supplied to Ukraine by the West. He described Ukraine’s losses as “near catastrophic”
According to the head of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, from June 4 to 20, Russian troops managed to repel all 263 attacks from Ukraine. The minister estimated Kiev’s losses at the level of 7.5 thousand people killed and injured from June 4 to 14.
Kuleba said this week that Ukraine will always have a shortage of weapons until the conflict with the Russian side is over.