Kiev announces making “gains” in the counter-attack and confirms that it is “progressing”
Ukraine announced on Tuesday that its forces were making progress, shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the counter-offensive Kiev had been preparing for months was failing.
“Fierce defensive and offensive fighting continues in the east and south of our country. We have made some gains, we are implementing the plans we have drawn up and we are moving forward,” Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander Valery Zaluzhny said on social networks.
On Tuesday, the Russian army announced the seizure of German Leopard tanks and Bradley armored vehicles, while Kiev announced that its forces had regained control of 7 villages in the east and south of the country from Russian forces, and also confirmed that they had made gains near the city of Bakhmut, following the counterattack it launched at the end of last week with Western weapons. to regain its territory.
Ukrainian officials said early Tuesday that Russia launched a “massive missile attack” last night on the city of Kryvyi Rih in southeastern Ukraine, killing at least 6 people, injuring 25 and damaging civilian infrastructure, shortly after Kiev announced it had regained control of seven cities. villages.
Putin confirms that the Russian army lacks enough high-precision ammunition and drones
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Ukraine is suffering huge losses in its counterattack on Russian positions in Ukraine, which he said targets several axes on the front.
“Their losses are approaching a level that can be described as catastrophic,” Putin said during a meeting with Russian journalists and writers covering the conflict.
He pointed out that Ukraine launched its offensive on June 4 and is leading it on at least three axes — Shakhtar and Fremensky to the east and Zaporizhia to the south.
He stressed that “the enemy was not successful in any region,” noting that Russia had suffered “ten times less losses than those incurred by the Ukrainian forces.”
Putin said that Kiev lost 160 tanks and 360 armored vehicles, which is equivalent to “according to my calculations, about 25 percent or 30 percent of the equipment that was delivered from abroad.”
Putin said that his country’s forces in Ukraine suffer from a shortage of some military equipment, including high-precision ammunition and drones.
“Over the course of the special military operation, it became clear that (the army) lacks a lot” of equipment, Putin said during the meeting. “We have high-precision ammunition, communications equipment and drones, but unfortunately it is not sufficient,” he added.
Putin is “considering” withdrawing from the grain deal
Putin announced that Russia is studying the issue of leaving the Ukrainian grain export agreement due to non-compliance with the provisions for the export of Russian fertilizers, according to Moscow.
He said, “We are considering withdrawing from the grain agreement (…) many of the conditions that should have been applied under it were not respected.” He accused Kiev of using the sea lanes stipulated in this agreement to attack the Russian fleet with drones.
Kiev is seeking to acquire F-18 fighters from Australia
Ukraine asked the Australian side about the status of dozens of out-of-service F-18 fighters, according to what Kiev’s ambassador told AFP on Tuesday, indicating that it is looking forward to obtaining weapons that can strengthen its air force in the face of the Russian invasion.
Vasyl Miroshnichenko said a preliminary request had been made to find out the status of about 41 aircraft stored at an air base north of Sydney.
“There was a request for information… Ukraine is looking forward to having combat aircraft, and this is part of it,” he said.
Stoltenberg hopes to force the Ukrainian attack Russia to negotiate
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday, before a meeting with US President Joe Biden, that Ukraine’s counterattack in order to liberate territories occupied by Russia may force the Kremlin to negotiate.
Stoltenberg, who is scheduled to meet Biden at the White House later Tuesday, told CNN that the attack, which he described as “difficult”, was still “in its early days”.
“They have the right … to liberate their land,” Stoltenberg said.
“The more territory they take back, the more likely it is that President (Vladimir) Putin will understand that he has to come to the negotiating table and agree to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” he added.
In response to a question about his successor after his term ends in October, Stoltenberg said, “I am very confident that they will find an excellent successor. My focus now is on leading this coalition until my term ends, because we are in the middle of a war in Europe.”
Germany will not be able to “exchange” all its damaged tanks in Ukraine
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that his country will not be able to replace all the tanks that it provided to Ukraine and went out of service during the battles, while Russia announced that it had captured or destroyed a number of them.
“We will not be able to replace every tank that stops working,” Pistorius told RTL-Germany TV on Monday evening.
Berlin offered or promised Kiev 110 Leopard 1 tanks and 18 Leopard 2 tanks.
On Tuesday, the Russian army announced the seizure for the first time of German Leopard tanks and American Bradley armored vehicles that Western countries handed over to Kiev to support them in their counterattack, accompanying the publication with a video clip filmed by phone showing several damaged military vehicles.
A group of Ukrainian Bradley fighting vehicles, supported by German-made Leopard tanks, came under fire on Wednesday while the 47th Brigade was launching an offensive in southeastern Zaporizhya (south).
The Russian army announces the seizure of tanks and armored vehicles
The Russian army announced, on Tuesday, the seizure for the first time on the front in Ukraine of German “Leopard” tanks and American “Bradley” armored vehicles, which the West handed over to Kiev to reinforce its counterattack, providing a video clip in support of its announcement.
The Russian ministry said, “Some of the engines of combat vehicles are still intact, which indicates that the battle did not last long, and that the Ukrainian teams fled,” noting that they had captured them in the Zaporizhia region of southern Ukraine.
11 people were killed in Russian strikes targeting the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih
At least 11 people were killed in Russian strikes that targeted the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine before dawn on Tuesday, as Russia continues its strategy of nightly bombing of the country in the midst of a counter-attack by Ukrainian forces.
In Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Dnepropetrovsk region in the center-east of the country, “high-precision” missiles hit several locations in the city, including a five-storey apartment building, according to local authorities.
The Dnepropetrovsk authorities reported on Telegram that “a five-storey building was destroyed”.
