The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) suffered significant losses in manpower and heavy equipment over the last few days. This was reported by CNN on Thursday, June 8, with reference to two high-ranking American officials.
At the same time, AFU encountered stronger resistance from the Russian troops than expected earlier, the TV channel reports. One of the two CNN sources characterized the losses of the Ukrainian army, including American MRAP armored personnel carriers, as "significant".
"Nevertheless, the Russian forces, armed with anti-tank missiles, grenades and mortars, put up "fierce resistance", entrenched in an echeloned defense, which in some areas has several levels of depth and is surrounded by minefields, which caused a lot of damage to Ukrainian armored vehicles", — reports.
At the same time, both CNN sources note that the loss of manpower and equipment allegedly will not affect the further plan of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, as American and Western officials initially expected that it would not happen quickly and would be associated with high risks for both soldiers and techniques, including western.
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Significant losses in the ranks of the Ukrainian forces are expected as the fighting intensifies, White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby told CNN.
ReplyDeleteHe pointed out that he did not intend to give specific figures on casualties in the Ukrainian ranks. According to him, "heavy losses" of Ukrainians in manpower and American weapons were due to "heavy fighting" around Artyomovsk (the Ukrainian name for Bakhmut) and in other parts of the front.
"Of course, casualties can be expected in these intense conflicts," Kirby stressed. He emphasized that the US and its allies will focus on providing military support to Ukraine.
Earlier on Thursday, CNN reported, citing US administration sources, that Ukrainian forces suffered significant losses (both in equipment and personnel) in their attempted counterattack, as Russian resistance was stronger than expected. However, representatives of the US administration say that the losses will not affect the broader plans of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
As the Russian Defense Ministry previously reported, Ukrainian forces have been making unsuccessful offensive attempts since June 4, suffering losses in manpower and equipment.