ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops that are attempting to attack in several frontline sectors have no chances for success, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday.
"Now that we are talking with you, another [Ukrainian counteroffensive] attempt is being made at the so-called Vremevka bulge and the enemy is attempting to attack in several sectors with several units supported by five tanks and there is also an attempt in the Zaporozhye area with the support of two tanks and several armored vehicles," the head of state said, responding to questions at the forum.
"As soon as they [Ukrainian troops] approached the first line, they lost several tanks. A battle is underway there right now," Putin said.
"I believe that the Ukrainian armed forces have no chances for success there and will have no chances. The same is true about other [frontline] directions. I have no doubts about that," the Russian leader stressed.
As Putin said, "somewhere Ukrainian troops manage to approach the first line and somewhere they do not. But this is not the point. The point is that they are using the so-called strategic reserves."
As the Russian leader explained, these strategic reserves "consist of several components: the first is designed to break through defense and the second is ready to use troops to gain a foothold on the territory and move across the territory."
"What is important, they have not achieved their goals in any of the sectors," Putin stressed.
Ukrainian troops have sustained heavy casualties, the Russian leader said, citing the latest data.
"Indeed, their losses are very high, even more than 10 to 1 compared to the Russian army. This is fact," Putin said.
Speaking about the Ukrainian army’s equipment losses, the Russian leader said: "every day, the loss of equipment is mounting."
"As of today, the Ukrainian army has lost 186 tanks and 418 various armored vehicles," the Russian leader said, without giving exact figures on personnel casualties, explaining that the data should be given by the defense ministry.
"Let me repeat: the main thing is that there are no successes in any of the directions. The enemy has had no success as reported by the military," Putin said.