After three weeks, the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive remains in “some kind of preparatory operation,” Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in an interview with the U.S.-based TV channel Fox News on June 25.
The first estimations of Ukraine’s counteroffensive were "overestimated,” according to him.
When the main assault takes place, in which Ukraine plans to use Western-supplied weapons such as Bradley fighting vehicles and German Leopard tanks, it will be successful and “one step closer to victory,” the minister said.
At the moment, the Ukrainian command is aiming to save as many of its servicemen's as much as possible, unlike Russia, which sends its troops as a "meat grinder.”.
"We try to save their lives," Reznikov said, who believes that this year will be a “game changer” in Russia's war against Ukraine.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, also confirmed that Ukraine's main force had not engaged on a larger scale in the counteroffensive yet. Currently, the army detects weak points in the defense of the Russians.
As of June 25, Ukraine has liberated eight settlements in the south since the launch of the counteroffensive on June 8.
Francis Farrell
