Moscow, (EFE).- Russian President Vladimir Putin today estimated more than 26,000 casualties of the Ukrainian Army since the start of the counteroffensive on June 4.
Putin specified that “there are more” when his Belarusian colleague, Alexandr Lukashenko -with whom he met today in Moscow-, assured that, according to US sources, Kiev had lost that number of soldiers in the last month and a half.
During their meeting at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, both stressed that in the last 24 hours alone the Russian army had destroyed a record number of 15 Leopard tanks and 20 Bradley armored vehicles.
“We have never destroyed so many foreign (equipment) in a single day,” Putin said.
He also considered the casualties in the ranks of foreign mercenaries “due to their stupidity” to be very large, for which he accused the governments of their countries.
For all this, the head of the Kremlin, who maintains that Western arsenals are running out, proclaimed that the Ukrainian counteroffensive “had failed.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted in recent days that the counter-offensive is going slower than expected, as kyiv wants to protect both its troops and equipment.
At the same time, he also recognized that the counteroffensive started too late due to a shortage of Western heavy weaponry, giving the Russian army time to fortify its positions and defense lines.
Ukraine has warned that if kyiv does not receive the necessary weapons, especially long-range missiles and warplanes, the fighting will drag on for several years.