Russia says Ukraine forces ‘regrouping’ after offensive losses

Russia said Thursday that Ukrainian forces in eastern and southern Ukraine were temporarily limiting their efforts to reclaim Moscow-held territory, after Kyiv launched its highly anticipated counter-offensive.

“After conducting active hostilities over the past 16 days and having suffered significant losses, the enemy has reduced its activity and is currently regrouping,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, in comments carried by Russian news agencies.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued several times within the last week that the Ukrainian counter-offensive is a failure.

But during a meeting Thursday with his security council, he conceded that Kyiv’s forces had “an offensive potential.”

“It must be assumed that this offensive potential of the adversary is not exhausted. A series of strategic reserves are not employed, and I ask that this reality be taken into account,” he said during the televised meeting.

Shoigu added during the meeting that Ukrainian forces were suffering heavy losses, while declining to give details of Russian casualties.

He also said that Western military aid for Ukraine was not seriously impacting outcomes on the battlefield, even though the Kremlin routinely says the deliveries prolong the conflict and escalate fighting.

“Today we understand that the quantities (of Western arms) that are going and have been delivered in 2023 do not have a significant influence on the course of military operations,” he said.

“We don’t see a threat there, especially since we are actively forming reserves,” he added.

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