“These are large areas that we lost,” Prigozhin said. The losses in the Russian ranks are also great. There are “colossal problems” that are being kept secret. On the other hand, the army leadership reported without evidence about alleged mass deaths and destroyed technology on the Ukrainian side. The head of the mercenary force repeatedly accused Shoigu and Gerasimov of incompetence. Once again he called for mobilization to prevent a Russian defeat. Russia has been at war with Ukraine for 16 months.
On the other hand, at a meeting with Putin, Shoigu again reported losses on the Ukrainian side, allegedly including numerous tanks. The pace of Kiev’s counter-offensive has slowed down after 16 days, Shoigu said, according to the Interfax agency. Nevertheless, the armed forces still have great potential. Kiev had also previously admitted that the offensive was progressing more slowly than some observers had hoped.
When asked by Putin about the risks for his own armed forces from the delivery of heavy weapons from the West to Ukraine, Shoigu said: “We don’t see any threats here – also because we are building reserves.” By the end of the month, a “reserve army” with more than 3,000 units of combat technology will be set up. He did not give details.