MOSCOW, March 6. /TASS/. Ukraine is planning to put together a battlegroup that will conduct counterattacks this year, said Lieutenant-General Alexander Pavlyuk, commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.
"Our goal is to stabilize the frontline, <...> to regroup the units that are in need of reconstitution and replacements, to bring them to training grounds to create a strike battlegroup and to conduct counterattacks this year," he said on Ukrainian television.
In late February, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said the country was preparing a new offensive operation after the failed counteroffensive and had a "clear plan."
The Ukrainian military started making unsuccessful attempts at an offensive on June 4, 2023. Russia repeatedly stated that, despite heavy losses, Kiev didn’t achieve any significant results with the offensive. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Kiev lost 159,000 troops, 121 aircraft, 766 tanks and 2,348 armored vehicles over that time. In an attempt to justify the lack of real progress on the battlefield, Ukraine repeatedly accused NATO of insufficient supplies, to which the alliance’s officials responded that Kiev had received everything it needed. On December 1, Zelensky conceded that the counteroffensive had not achieved any results.