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Kiev created excessive expectations by hyping up its offensive — Shoigu

The Russian defense minister responded to a question about the chances of a Ukrainian offensive on the Zaporozhye Region and Crimea
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu
© Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP

MOSCOW, July 11. /TASS/. Kiev hyped up its counteroffensive so much that many countries expected to see substantial results by the start of the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said.

"I think they have touted and hyped up this counteroffensive issue so much that practically, if not half the world, then a third of it for sure, was waiting for the 11th to take stock of some results such as what was achieved by this widely touted and anticipated thing they called a ‘strategic’ counteroffensive," he said.

He was responding to a question about the chances of a Ukrainian offensive on the Zaporozhye Region and Crimea, something which had been threatened by the West since spring and for which Kiev had been provided with a huge number of NATO-standard weapons and equipment.