Vladimir Putin - Answer to the question about the situation in the Special Military Operations zone

June 9, 2023 18:00 Sochi Question: There was a lot of news from the front yesterday. Reported like good yesterday - and the chief of the General Staff [Valery Gerasimov] and the Minister of Defense [Sergey Shoigu]. Can we say that the Ukrainian counter-offensive has bogged down and we have managed to neutralize the offensive potential of the Kyiv regime? Vladimir Putin: Now I need to switch abruptly from one topic to another, but what can I say. First, it can be stated with absolute certainty that this offensive has begun. This is evidenced by the use of strategic reserves of the Ukrainian army. First. Second. In none of the areas of hostilities, the Ukrainian troops did not achieve the tasks assigned to them. This is an absolutely obvious thing. The fighting, as I said, is intense for five days. For example, for yesterday, the day before yesterday - for the previous two days - they were very intense and the enemy was not successful in any of the sectors. All this is achieved thanks to the courage and heroism of our soldiers, the correct organization, the correct command and control of the troops and the high efficiency of Russian weapons, especially modern weapons. Yes, we still do not have enough of these modern weapons, but the defense industry, the country’s military-industrial complex is developing rapidly, and I am sure that all the tasks facing the defense industry will, of course, be solved. There is an intensive increase in the production of modern types of weapons. Over these days, we are seeing significant losses of troops of the Ukrainian regime. It is known that during offensive operations, losses of about three to one are a classic. But in this case, it significantly exceeds the classical indicators. I won’t reproduce these figures now, but they are impressive. I want to note that this tragedy is due to the events that took place in previous years, and the responsibility for this tragedy lies entirely with the current Kiev regime, whose primary source of power is the coup d’état that took place in Ukraine in 2014. As for the fact that the offensive bogged down - no. In any case, it can be stated that all counteroffensive attempts made so far have failed. But the offensive potential of the troops of the Kyiv regime is still preserved. I presume that Russia’s military leadership realistically assesses the current situation and will proceed from these realities in building our actions in the near future. All the best.