ST. PETERSBURG, June 15. /TASS/. The Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) is ready to repel the Ukrainian counteroffensive and the 2nd Army Corps has been provisioned with everything it needs, Leonid Pasechnik, the acting head of the LPR, said on Thursday.
"We are ready for the [Ukrainian] counterattack, which is already underway. The defenses have been sufficiently strengthened," he told TASS on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). "As for the LPR 2nd Army Corps, the guys are ready, the appropriate weapons are at hand, everything necessary is on hand."
According to Pasechnik, "the enemy has no chance." "At least in our area, I think they won’t be able to breach the [first] line of defense," he added.
As the Russian Defense Ministry reported, Ukrainian troops have been making unsuccessful attempts at mounting an offensive since June 4, suffering losses in manpower and equipment. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on June 6 that, over three days, Russian forces repulsed all Ukrainian attempts at executing the "long-promised offensive," with losses on the Ukrainian side amounting to 3,715 people. Russian President Vladimir Putin also pointed out that the Ukrainian forces had not seen any success in any area. As follows from data reported by Bloomberg, the West acknowledges significant Ukrainian losses in manpower and equipment. At the same time, Politico quoted Biden administration officials as saying that further assistance to Kiev will depend on the success of the counteroffensive.