A Ukrainian artilleryman fires a 152 mm towed gun-howitzer D-20 towards Russian positions on the front line near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on July 20.
Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the West is disappointed with the results of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
“Today it is obvious that the Western curators of the Kiev regime are clearly disappointed with the results of the so-called counter-offensive,” Putin said, using the Russian name for Ukraine’s capital, during a televised portion of a meeting of Russia’s Security Council.
Putin said the counteroffensive did not bring any results.
“Nothing helped – neither the colossal resources that were ‘pumped into’ the Kiev regime, nor the supply of Western weapons – tanks, artillery, armored vehicles, missiles – nor the sending of thousands of foreign mercenaries and advisers, who were most actively used in attempts to break through the front of our army,” Putin said.
“At the same time, the whole world sees that the hyped-up Western military equipment, supposedly invulnerable equipment, is burning down on the front lines.”
Some context: Since the Ukrainian counteroffensive began in June, the fighting has proved tougher than some anticipated, with progress being measured in hundreds of meters as opposed to tens of kilometers.
Ukraine had hoped to use the push to expel a significant amount of Russian forces from Ukrainian soil and turn the tide of the war.
Andriy Yermak, a key adviser to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, told journalists earlier this month that he accepted the counteroffensive is “not going that fast; it is slow.”
Claims about Poland: Putin also claimed, without providing evidence, that Moscow is aware of plans to create a Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian military unit to protect territories in the western part of Ukraine.
Putin accused Poland of harboring plans to “directly intervene“ in the war and “tear off” parts of Ukraine for itself, also claiming Warsaw has aspirations to annex parts of Belarus.
“This is not about some kind of gathering of mercenaries — there are enough of them, and they are being destroyed — but about a regular, well-knit, equipped military formation that is planned to be used for operations on the territory of Ukraine,” Putin said during an operational meeting of the country’s Security Council on Friday.
“(This unit is for) allegedly ensuring the security of modern western Ukraine, but in fact it is, if you call a spade a spade, for the subsequent occupation of these territories,” he said. “After all, the prospect is obvious — if Polish units enter, for example, Lviv or other territories of Ukraine, they will remain there. And they will remain forever.”
“Unleashing aggression against Belarus will mean aggression against the Russian Federation,” Putin added. “We will respond to this with all the means at our disposal.”
Poland is a key NATO ally currently housing thousands of American troops that also serves as a hub for Western weapons transfers to Ukraine.
CNN’s Katharina Krebs, Vasco Cotovio and Niamh Kennedy contributed reporting to this post.
Source link: https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-07-21-23/index.html