Shoigu: Kiev is regrouping

mid retreat its counterattack Relatively over the past few days, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that the Ukrainian forces have reduced their operations on the front line.

He explained that the intensity of the counter-attack has decreased slightly over the past days, but Kiev is currently working to regroup.

carrying out offensive actions

He also added, today, Thursday, that Kiev can still carry out offensive actions.

The Russian minister’s announcement came at a time when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was reported to have said on Wednesday that progress in the Ukrainian counterattack on Russian forces was “slower than desirable”, but Kiev would not allow pressure to accelerate.

Shoigu had warned that the Ukrainian army was planning to target Crimea, which his country annexed to its territory in 2014, with American HIMARS and British Storm Shadow missiles, threatening that Moscow would respond by striking decision-making centers in Kiev immediately.

The Wall Street Journal: The preliminary results of the Ukrainian counteroffensive are slow, deadly and costly

Indeed, Russian-appointed officials in the Kherson and Crimean regions confirmed that Ukrainian forces launched a missile attack on a bridge linking Kherson in southern Ukraine with Crimea.

Meanwhile, the President of the Republic of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, announced that the Ukrainian forces targeted the “Chongar” bridge, without causing any casualties. He explained on his channel on “Telegram” that explosives experts are currently working to determine the type of explosive materials, and the competent authorities are conducting road surveys.

Embrace the wins

Nevertheless, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed again that Ukrainian soldiers had suffered “significant losses”, asserting that there was a “stalemate” on the fronts amid the failure of the counter-offensive.

A Russian armored vehicle captured by the Ukrainian army during the counteroffensive in Kharkiv – Reuters

While many Ukrainian officials confirmed that their country’s forces achieved important results, and recovered several villages that were occupied by the Russians.

Between this and that, many observers expect that the battles will not be easy for the two sides, and that the war will prolong more, in light of the blockage of any horizon for a solution or the possibility of resuming negotiations between the two parties.