According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, NATO leads Ukraine’s counteroffensive was a failure because its army sustained significant losses.
In St. Petersburg, Russia, where he was hosting his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko for talks, President Putin declared that Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive to repel Russian forces has “failed.” Staunton on Sunday.
Putin responded to Lukashenko’s claim that “there is no counteroffensive” by stating that the counteroffensive has been tried but failed.”
read more: lack of sufficient US munition delays counteroffensive – Zelensky
Putin, who commanded a “special military operation” in Ukraine in February of last year, asserted that the country has suffered more than 26,000 casualties since the counteroffensive began.
For his part, Lukashenko claimed that over 20 Bradley tanks and more than 15 Leopard tanks had been obliterated in the previous day.
Regarding the foreign mercenaries fighting for Ukraine, Putin claimed that they have been suffering significant losses as a result of their “tactics” and “foolishness.”
Since the start of Russia’s military operation, over 4,900 foreign mercenaries have fled the fighting area and left Ukraine, according to the Russian military, which estimates that close to 5,000 have died in Ukraine.
Putin added that the two leaders would speak “in great detail and in-depth” about security and other topics. “.
The long-time leaders came together for the first time since Lukashenko assisted in quelling the biggest challenge to Putin’s more than two-decade rule, a mutiny by Russian Wagner mercenaries in Russia last month.
To stop the notorious fighters on its soil from moving “westward” toward Poland, Alexander Lukashenko claimed he is “keeping” Russian Wagner mercenaries in central Belarus.
Polish involvement in the conflict in Ukraine has already increased due to Warsaw’s provision of Kyiv with military hardware, but recent reports suggest that Warsaw may step up its involvement.
The transfer of Western Ukraine to Poland would be unacceptable for Minsk, according to Lukashenko, who also vowed to assist the region if it requests help. Lukashenko accused Poland of attempting to “rip off a western chunk” of Ukraine.
Following the arrival of the Wagner fighters in Belarus, Warsaw has declared it will fortify its eastern border.
President Putin also cautioned that the Polish government might be preparing to send troops to Ukraine soon in his Friday meeting with the members of Russia’s Security Council.
He asserted that Warsaw likely intends to put together a coalition “under the protection of NATO” to enter the Ukrainian conflict directly and seize the areas that make up contemporary West Ukraine.
As part of a Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian security initiative, Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), also stated during the meeting that Warsaw was considering capturing western Ukrainian territories by sending its own troops there.
Putin gave the head of Russian foreign intelligence instructions to keep an eye on Poland’s plans for Ukraine in this regard.
