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Russia said on Monday that Ukraine's counter-offensive was not going according to plan and that Ukraine was wasting the millions of dollars the West gave it in arms supplies. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told a military meeting that "Ukraine is desperately throwing new forces" into attacks on Russian positions, but is failing to advance.

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"Obviously, the Western weapons supplied do not lead to successes on the battlefield, but only prolong the military conflict," Shoigu said at a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Armed Forces. According to him, Ukraine's losses in personnel since the beginning of the counter-offensive already exceed 26,000 people.

Ukraine, in turn, notes that it has progressed gradually, albeit more slowly than desired, since it launched its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia's entrenched positions early last month. After 17 months of war, Ukraine is under pressure to achieve meaningful results on the battlefield after receiving supplies of tanks, missile systems and other ammunition from the West and to show that it is not clearly supported by NATO member states. In this context, Russia has consistently defined the counteroffensive as a failure, even though it is still in its early stages.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media that "the resources worth millions of dollars that are transferred from NATO countries to the Kiev regime are practically being spent inefficiently and aimlessly." The Kremlin spokesman added that this is precisely why Kiev resorts to "moves of despair" such as yesterday's drone attack on office buildings in Moscow.

British newspaper: Ukraine has launched the main part of the counteroffensive against Russia

But Peskov said the fact that enemy drones reached the heart of the Russian capital within the past three months, though without causing much damage, was a cause for concern for authorities, who informed the public about Russia's full control over the "special military operation" in Ukraine. The Kremlin press secretary added that Moscow had taken "all possible measures" to protect against such attacks.

"Against the backdrop of failures on the battlefield, the Kiev regime has focused on terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure in cities and settlements in the Russian Federation," Defense Minister Shoigu said.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Sergei Shoigu

Counteroffensive