Ukraine’s counteroffensive has “failed completely,” Putin claims
Ukraine has lost “over 90,000 people” since June 4 in its stalling “counteroffensive”, Russian President Vladimir Putin claims. The Ukrainian effort to reach Crimea and Mariupol “has failed completely”, Putin said on Sunday.
“As for the counteroffensive, which is apparently stalling – it has failed completely. We know that in certain areas of the hostilities, however, the opposing side is preparing new active offensive operations. We see this, and we know it. And we are also responding to this accordingly,” Putin said in an interview with reporter Pavel Zarubin, published on Sunday.
In the face of a faltering Ukrainian attack, Russia had begun improving its positions, Putin claimed: “What is currently happening along the entire frontline is called an ‘active defense’. Our troops are improving their positions over a considerable expanse of this area, a fairly extensive one,” Putin said.
“Russia currently controls about 17.5% of Ukrainian territory and a four-month-old Ukrainian counteroffensive this year by Ukrainian forces has made almost no net territorial gains, according to Western analyses of the territory held by Russia”, Reuters reports.
Russia claims that Ukraine has lost 557 tanks and almost 1,900 armored vehicles in the offensive, Sputnik News reported.
“The situation looks stable, solid. The troops are acting very professionally, exhibit heroism at many locations, displaying confidence not to only hold their positions, but to continue the realization of the plans we had outlined,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
30% of Ukrainians now believe that the West is tired of supporting Ukraine, up from from 15% in September 2022.
Speaking to Judge Andrew Napolitano, Prof. John Mearsheimer said he believes Ukraine is “finished”:
“Admiral Kirby’s comments that we’re not going to continue funding Ukraine for the long term basically means that they’re finished. That is, as everyone understands, if we pull the plug on the Ukrainians, they don’t have the weapons, they don’t have the financial resources to continue this fight, and the Russians will overwhelm them.”
“Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky puts on a fine show of confidence, but he makes no secret of the lagging popular support in Europe and the United States for Washington’s proxy war”, Col. Douglas MacGregor said on Twitter/X. “He knows NATO is in trouble. Frankly, the alliance was never designed to wage offensive warfare against anyone.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky puts on a fine show of confidence, but he makes no secret of the lagging popular support in Europe and the United States for Washington’s proxy war.
He knows NATO is in trouble.
Frankly, the alliance was never designed to wage offensive…
— Douglas Macgregor (@DougAMacgregor) October 17, 2023
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