Vladimir Putin has denied Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s claims of early success in Ukraine’s long-anticipated counteroffensive, which has seen Kyiv’s troops regain some territory, while admitting that Russia had lost 54 tanks in the opening assaults.
In a televised meeting with military bloggers, Russia’s president conceded that his forces had taken losses but insisted that Ukraine had lost 25% to 30% of its foreign-supplied military vehicles including 160 tanks.
The comments in Moscow followed Zelenskiy’s claims that Ukrainian forces had successfully retaken several villages in its new offensive in the east of the country. Russia has not acknowledged any Ukrainian gains.
“This is a massive counteroffensive, using strategic reserves that were prepared for this task,” Putin said. “They lost over 160, we lost 54 tanks, and some of them are subject to restoration and repair.”
Putin claimed the human cost for Ukraine been 10 times as grave as those imposed on Russia in the first days of the offensive, which he said had started on 4 June. “Their losses are approaching a level that could be described as catastrophic,” he said.
In a wide-ranging press conference, Putin further claimed that Ukraine had both used US Himars rocket launch systems to destroy the Kakhovka dam last week and that the destruction had impeded Kyiv’s attack plans in Kherson.“The Ukrainian side wanted this … unfortunately, it stopped their counter offensive on that front. Unfortunately, because this offensive would have ended very badly for the Ukrainian troops.”
Ukrainian officials have blamed Russia for the destruction of the dam but expressed frustration that Kyiv’s account – that the dam was blown up from inside by Russian forces – has not so far been confirmed by US, UK or other intelligence agencies. Explosive experts have said it would be much easier to blow up the dam from within than by firing on it from a distance.
Military analysts have suggested that the fighting so far is still mainly confined to probing attacks by the Ukrainians who have yet to unleash the bulk of their reserve forces or western-supplied vehicles.
Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg told Joe Biden at an Oval Office meeting on Tuesday that Ukrainians are “making progress” with their counteroffensive, which could bolster their position when there’s an opportunity to reach a diplomatic end to the war with Russia. “The support that we are providing together for Ukraine is now making a difference on the battlefield as we speak,” Stoltenberg said. “Because the offensive has launched, and the Ukrainians are making progress, making advances.” He added, “It’s still early days, but what we do know is that the more land that Ukrainians are able to liberate, the stronger hand they will have at the negotiating table.”
Late on Monday, the defence ministry in Kyiv broke its silence over the counteroffensive, saying seven settlements had been liberated in the past week of fighting in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. “The area of the territory taken under control amounted to 90 sq km,” Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, said.
“The fighting is tough, but we are moving forward, this is very important,” Ukraine’s president had said in a late evening address on Monday. “I thank our guys for every Ukrainian flag that is now returning to its rightful place in villages on the newly de-occupied territory.”
Meanwhile, the civilian cost in Ukraine’s cities continues to mount. At least 11 people were killed and dozens more wounded after a Russian missile struck an apartment block and a food warehouse in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskiy’s home town, at 3.20am on Tuesday.
Survivors spoke of being blown from their beds by a blast as their homes were hit by the only missile of six fired by Russian forces that successfully breached air defences.
Officials said at least four people had been killed in the apartment building and another seven in the warehouse. Twenty-eight were said to have been injured.
One woman who escaped from the burning apartment block, Vira, 40, said: “There was a sound and then there was a light. Then there was a blast wave. I sat down and sat in the corridor. Then panic started, then my neighbour knocked on my door. We went out into the corridor, and everything was burning, burning. People were screaming, shouting, jumping from balconies.”
In a short statement posted on social media, Zelenskiy said: “Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded … Terrorists will never be forgiven, and they will be held accountable for every missile they launch.”
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Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said that the missile strike had destroyed a five-storey apartment building, leaving people who had been asleep in their beds trapped under the rubble.
Denise Brown, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, condemned the attack. “Russia’s invasion has, once again, claimed lives and brought suffering to the people of Ukraine,” she said. “International humanitarian law is clear: civilians and civilian infrastructure are not a target.”
The attack on Kryvyi Rih’s had been part of a broader assault across the country, now familiar to many Ukrainians, that included attempted night-time strikes on the capital, Kyiv and the north-eastern city of Kharkiv.
Ukraine’s senior military command said that air forces had destroyed 10 out of 14 cruise missiles launched on Ukraine and one of four Iranian-made drones.
Putin also addressed concerns during his press conference about attacks by dissident Russian units and drones inside Russia by conceding that the military could have been better prepared.
He said: “One could have assumed that the enemy would behave this way, and one could have prepared better. Of course, we need to reinforce the border”.
He added that there had been shortfalls in Russia’s preparedness for what he has long described as a “special military operation”.
He said: “During the course of the special military operation, it became clear that many things were lacking. High-precision ammunition, communications equipment, drones, etc … We have them, but unfortunately, there is not enough.”
Putin said he did not believe, however, that there was a need for further mobilisation.
“Some public figures say we need to get 1 million or 2 million,” he said. “It depends on what we want.”
“Should we return there?” Putin quipped of suggestions that Russia could again seek to storm Kyiv after last March’s failure.
