Own breakthroughs, enemy losses. Kiev and Moscow see themselves on the right track in the fighting in Ukraine. NATO is hoping for negotiations, but Russian President Putin has ruled them out.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive is underway – but how, both sides have their own interpretation of it. In a conversation with Russian war correspondents and military bloggers, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke of “near-catastrophic” Ukrainian losses. In contrast, Russian losses are “ten times lower,” the Kremlin chief said. According to Putin, Ukraine has lost more than 160 tanks and up to 360 armored vehicles. Putin put his own losses at 54 tanks, some of which could be repaired. It is information that cannot be verified.
Kyiv reports successes
Meanwhile, Kiev said Ukrainian forces were making gains and advancing. Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zalushny told online services that “both defensive and offensive” fighting continued in southern and eastern Ukraine. “We have wins, we apply our plan and we move forward,” added Saluschny. In the past few days, Kiev had already reported the recapture of several villages in the south and east of the country.
During a visit to the White House in Washington, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged Ukraine’s “progress” in its counter-offensive. “The more country Ukrainians can liberate, the stronger their position at the negotiating table,” he said in a conversation with US President Joe Biden. In view of the Ukrainians’ gains, Putin will “understand that he has to sit down at the negotiating table”.
The military expert Nico Lange had recently reported breakthroughs in Ukraine in several places – for example in the Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions. “But there is still a long way to go and it requires a slow and careful approach in this phase,” says Lange tagesschau.de interview.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.
Putin against negotiations with “regime”
Putin ruled out negotiations with the government during the appointment and once again circulated his version of reality: “Unlike the Ukrainian authorities, we do not resort to terrorist methods. After all, we are a state, a society and you are a regime. And they act too like a regime based on terror.”
He criticized Western arms deliveries, saying the West wanted to defeat Russia in Ukraine. If the deliveries were stopped, the war could end.
According to Putin, a new wave of mobilization is not necessary in Russia. He justified this with the allegedly high number of volunteer army applicants. More than 150,000 Russians have signed contracts as contract soldiers in the military since January, the head of state said.
Selenskyj wants more anti-aircraft defense and sanctions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of waging a war “against “houses, normal cities and people”. There were also Russian drone and rocket attacks in the capital Kiev and the city of Kharkiv in the east of the country. In his evening video message he called for stronger anti-aircraft defenses for Ukraine and tougher sanctions against Russia.”Together with our partners, we must create such conditions that Russian terrorism becomes impossible,” said Zelenskyy the sanctions against Russia are enforced more consistently.
Authorities say several people have been killed and others injured in a new Russian attack with cruise missiles on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa on the Black Sea. A Kalibr projectile hit a storage building and started a fire there, the high command of the Ukrainian Army Group South wrote on Facebook. Three camp workers were killed and seven injured.
With information from Frank Aischmann, ARD Studio Moscow, currently Berlin