MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. The Ukrainian military keeps its reserves for a second wave of its counteroffensive that may be more massive but the danger should not be overestimated, acting DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) Head Denis Pushilin said on Thursday.
"The enemy must not be underestimated in any case because we saw that mixed units were involved at the first stage [of the counteroffensive] after all: both mobilized and barely trained forces and territorial defense and those formations that had undergone training in NATO countries. But the amount of equipment and the reserves that the enemy still keeps all the same suggest that the second wave may be more intensive and more dimensional," Pushilin said in a live broadcast on Russia’s TV Channel One.
The first stage of the counteroffensive was a failure for the Kiev regime, despite the amount of troops and equipment committed to battle, he stressed.
Russian army units are ready for new attacks by the Ukrainian military, the acting DPR head said.
"On the other hand, I would not overestimate and fear any serious breakthroughs and the seizure of our territories but it will be uneasy," he said.
As the Russian Defense Ministry reported earlier, Ukrainian troops have been making unsuccessful offensive attempts since June 4. Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Nikolay Patrushev said on June 22 that the Ukrainian military had lost over 13,000 troops since it launched its counteroffensive. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukrainian troops had failed to achieve success in any of the frontline sectors.