Hours after a missile attack killed 11 people in Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown, Vladimir Putin claimed that losses on the Ukrainian side “approach catastrophic”, and acknowledged losses on his side and the need for his country’s armed forces to have more equipment, such as precision missiles and drones. Shortly afterwards Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, gave an assessment of the Ukrainian offensive that belied the Russian leader’s statements.
War is not only waged on the ground. Proof that the information and propaganda battle has its weight, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Kovalyov highlighted the liberation of “more than 100 square kilometres” in the eastern and southern regions of the country, while Moscow did not miss the opportunity to show images of captured Leopard tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles. “These are our trophies,” the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.
The Russian president, during a meeting with journalists and bloggers writing about the special military operation, admitted losses in recent days while highlighting what he considers to be a disastrous “enemy’s” offensive. “Their losses are approaching a level that can be described as catastrophic. We have 10 times less losses than the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” he claimed.
His ally and at the same time opponent of the military leadership Prigozhin decided to respond to the letter. “On the offensive, they [Ukrainians] are doing things competently. They are cutting off certain areas in the direction of Zaporijia and at the same time they are covering their left flank. They are advancing cautiously and calmly. They lost a couple of Leopards and Bradley’s, these are normal combat losses,” he assessed in a video.
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