On June 13, RT quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement at a meeting at the Kremlin saying that Ukraine had begun a large-scale counterattack but failed on all fronts and suffered catastrophic losses.

The Russian president added that Ukrainian forces had lost dozens of tanks and hundreds of armored vehicles in attacks on the front line over the past week. Putin also stressed that the Ukrainian army had not achieved any success in the first week of the counter-offensive.

According to President Putin, Russian forces in eastern Ukraine are facing four enemy attacks at once. The Ukrainian army has brought into the battlefield all its forces, including units trained and equipped by the West.

However, the operation has resulted in huge losses in manpower and equipment for Kiev. The Russian president estimated that Ukraine had lost “at least 160 tanks and 360 armored vehicles.” The amount of military equipment destroyed by the Russian army accounted for 25% to 30% of the total Western military equipment supplied to Ukraine.

“There is also damage that we do not see, which is the result of long-range strikes with high-precision weapons,” Putin said, claiming that Ukraine’s actual losses could be higher than the figure he gave.

Regarding the loss of forces on both sides, Mr. Putin said that Russian casualties were "10 times lower" than those of Ukrainian forces.

The Russian president also reiterated that the “basic goals” of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine remain the same and the Kremlin has no plans to change them. At the same time, Putin asserted that Moscow “sincerely seeks” to reach an agreement with Kiev and resolve differences related to the former southeastern regions of Ukraine, as well as those annexed to Russia at the end of 2022.

Referring to cross-border attacks from Ukraine into southern regions, President Putin said Russia could have defended better.

“Of course, this is not good, but in principle one can assume how the enemy will act and be better prepared,” he said, referring to recent attacks in the Belgorod region.

According to the Kremlin leader, there is currently no reason for Russia to impose a special status or martial law. Mr. Putin also affirmed that Russia currently does not need to mobilize additional forces to participate in the campaign in Ukraine.

After a long period of declaring a counteroffensive, the Ukrainian army finally began its counteroffensive on June 4. So far Kiev's efforts have brought only a slight change on the front line.

The Russian Defense Ministry previously announced that Ukrainian forces had lost dozens of pieces of military equipment in recent counterattacks, including tanks and armored vehicles provided by the West. It was accompanied by videos showing Russian forces successfully attacking Ukrainian heavy equipment.

On June 13, the Russian Defense Ministry also posted a video showing Russian soldiers capturing a German-made Leopard 2 main battle tank and a US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.

Tra Khanh (Source: RT; Reuters)