Fierce fighting continues in the Zaporozhye and Donetsk regions, neither side has succeeded. Photo: GIAN MARCO BENEDETTO/ANADOLU
The Ukrainian Marine Corps lost many men in the first days of the counteroffensive, and the recruits were left «mentally broken» in battle, the battalion commander warned.
Despite a brutal start to the offensive that began in early June, Kiev forces began to steadily retake Russian-occupied territory.
“I have lost a lot,” Oleksandr, 28, a battalion commander in the 37th Marine Brigade, told New York Times.
«And some of the newcomers are mentally broken,» he added.
Ukraine does not publish its casualties, but a Western official recently said that since the start of the war, Kiev has lost «more than 100,000 people.»
Heavy losses provoked public criticism of the military leadership of Kiev, as well as Western training and equipment of its troops.
Valery Markus, Sergeant Major of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade, asked for a demotion in a Facebook post criticizing his superiors for the incompetence and disregard for the morale of his men during the fighting in southern Zaporozhye.
The recruits are described as «mentally broken» after fighting at the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. Photo: GIAN MARCO BENEDETTO/ANADOLU. like the American MaxxPro armored fighting vehicle, which was designed to fight insurgents.
Alexander said he often argued with instructors in the US who were unable to adapt to the needs of his people.
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“They fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the enemy there is not the same as the Russians,” he added.
This happened due to the fact that only in the last week in eastern Ukraine Russian troops have used up half a million rounds of ammunition.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Mylar said there were «endless assaults.» by the Russians, more than 9,000 shellings, about a thousand more than the previous week.
“These are continuous shellings that our soldiers have to go through,” she added.
Tem time around the village of Robotino in the Zaporozhye region and Staromayorsky in Donetsk, fierce battles continued, in which neither side was able to achieve success.
The commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine told his American colleague that Kiev is a phased creation of conditions for further advance in the south.
General Valery Zaluzhny said that he told General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, that «the initiative is on our side.”< /p>
“Our soldiers are doing their best. [Russia] is conducting active assault operations in a number of areas, but without success,” General Zaluzny said.
“Significant results”
On Monday, China said the international peace talks over the weekend helped «strengthen the international consensus» on ending the war in Ukraine.
Talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which were attended by more than three dozen countries, and most attention was given to Kiev's 10-point peace plan.
After the meeting, European Union officials made it clear that Beijing «actively participated in and welcomed the idea of a third meeting at this level.»
EU diplomats have been encouraged by the presence of China, which they believe will have an impact in persuading Moscow to end the conflict, as Beijing has refused to join similar talks in Copenhagen.
Ukrainian soldiers are under «endless attacks» from the Russians. Photo: GIAN MARCO BENEDETTO/ANADOLU
In his late-night speech on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the «significant results» of US and German air defense systems in protecting Ukraine from air attacks.
The President of Ukraine said his forces shot down almost 250 people. missiles and drones, including the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which Russia once claimed to be «unstoppable».
Mr. Zelensky noted the appearance on the battlefield of the SCALP-EG cruise missile, the French variant of Britain's Storm Shadow signed on Sunday one ammunition attached to a Su-24 fighter jet.
The missile was painted in the colors of the French flag and adorned with the coat of arms of Ukraine depicting the Eiffel Tower.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has confirmed that rockets donated by Paris were used to target Chongar and Genicheskie bridges, which connect occupied Crimea with the southern Kherson region.
“The counteroffensive is wavering”
Olav Scholz, the German Chancellor, was under increasing pressure from two party allies, demanding even more build up of their armed forces. support for Kyiv with the supply of Taurus cruise missiles.
“The counter-offensive is faltering, Ukraine does not have a significant air force to support it,” Andreas Schwarz, a member of his Social Democratic Party, told the German newspaper Der Spiegel.
“Only guided missiles such as cruise missiles remain. Taurus rockets, with which the Ukrainian army could overcome the minefields laid by the Russians and recapture the territory.”
Nils Schmid, the official representative of the party for foreign affairs in the Bundestag, echoed his comments.
However, he warned that Ukraine would have to leave the choice of targets because assistance from Berlin would bring it «dangerously close to direct participation in the war.»
Last week, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said supplying Taurus missiles with a range in excess of 300 miles «is not our top priority right now.»
Kyiv forces have used Storm Shadow air-launched missiles donated by the UK and France will strike key Russian logistics centers deep behind enemy lines to disable Moscow's war machine.
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