Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he might direct his soldiers to seize additional territory in Ukraine to defend Russian territories on the border, while claiming that Ukrainian forces suffered “catastrophic” losses in a recent counteroffensive.
Overview
The Russian President communicated in-depth about the ongoing war in Ukraine on Tuesday with a group of military journalists and bloggers, just as Ukrainian officials asserted that they were able to capture several villages in the early phases of their counterattack.
Putin said that over recent days of intense action, Ukraine lost 160 tanks and more than 360 other armoured vehicles. In contrast, Russia only lost 54 tanks since Kyiv started the counteroffensive. These assertions could not be confirmed immediately.
He further stated that his military would take action to deter Ukrainian invasions and shelling of Russia’s Belgorod and other border districts. If Kyiv’s attacks persist, “We will have to consider creating a sanitary zone in Ukraine to prevent it from striking our territory.” This statement was about attacks on Belgorod and other border regions by Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s counter-offensive has been underway for about 10 days.
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) June 14, 2023
Putin reports that the Ukrainian losses are “catastrophic”. Suffering 10x the casualties as Russia and massive vehicle losses.
The highly publicized counter-offensive has been a colossal failure. pic.twitter.com/p4UWhvzVnj
Putin remarked there is no need for extra soldiers to fight in Ukraine for now; however, any subsequent military mobilisation would depend on what Russia wants to achieve there. “There is no such need today.” “Some public figures say we need to get one million or two million,” Putin said. “It depends on what we want.”
Additionally, Putin affirmed there was no need to follow Ukraine’s path and impose martial law. “There’s no reason to introduce a special regime or martial law in the country.”
He also stated that, in response to purported Ukrainian invasions and shelling of Russia’s border areas, Moscow might create a “sanitary zone” to prevent Kyiv from undertaking such operations. The zone would extend “to a depth that would prevent it from striking our territory,” he added.
The Russian leader condemned Ukraine for the collapse of the Kakhovka dam, which caused catastrophic flooding, stating Ukrainian soldiers had repeatedly shelled the dam with HIMARS rockets, and then allegedly used explosives to demolish it. He contended that Russia had no cause to destroy the dam. “We are certainly not interested in that because it has grave consequences for the territories we control,” he added.
Additionally, Putin claimed that Russia was short of “high-precision ammunition, communications equipment, aircraft, drones, and so on” despite increasing weapon manufacturing in the last year. He said that Russia was open to peace negotiations but that the only way to resolve the crisis was for Western countries to stop supplying weapons to Kyiv.
The Russian President also stated his support for a defence ministry decree requiring private military companies to sign contracts with it by 1 July, which the Wagner Group has refused to do.
Ukraine war live updates: Putin says Ukraine's counteroffensive is failing; Russia strikes Odesa, civilians dead and injured https://t.co/h2Oi2TlbO4
— CNBC (@CNBC) June 14, 2023
Ukraine’s Counteroffensive Moves
Ukraine’s large-scale counteroffensive began in the first week of June. Putin said Ukraine suffered tremendous losses, with casualties in Kyiv ten times more than in Moscow.
On Tuesday, Zelensky hailed Ukrainian soldiers’ gains in the east, near the long-besieged city of Bakhmut, and on the war’s southern front. “Thanks to everyone who is now fighting, who protects and advances our positions,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “For example, the Bakhmut sector … there is forward movement in various areas.”
Ukraine claims to have liberated three villages in the southeast as part of its much-anticipated counteroffensive. Social media footage shows Ukrainian soldiers celebrating in the Donetsk region’s adjoining towns of Blahodatne and Neskuchne.
Analysts have identified many hurdles in Ukraine’s attempts to breach borders that Russia has defended for months. However, in other regions, Kyiv’s soldiers are said to have broken the front lines in mechanised operations over the weekend, using German Leopard-2 tanks.