Kiev stops counterattack, Moscow accuses the opponent of using weapons indiscriminately, General Sergei Surovikin appears in Africa

In an interview with the Financial Times (FT), analysts said that there are several lessons that can be drawn from Ukraine's counter-offensive, one of the most important being that soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (VSU) have not been adequately trained in the West.

(08.09) Xác của một quả bom chùm tại khu vực Slovyansk, Ukraine. (Nguồn Zuma Press)

Russia-Ukraine conflict update: Kiev stops counterattack, Moscow accuses opponent of indiscriminate use of weapons. Pictured: The remains of a cluster bomb in the Slovyansk region, Ukraine. (Source: Zuma Press)

According to Ukrainian and Western officials, Ukraine’s losses amounted to nearly a fifth of the weapons that NATO provided for the counteroffensive, forcing Kiev to pause its offensive and reassess its strategy.

Kiev's offensive, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, began on June 4. At first, the VSU tried to carry out the offensive using mechanized units, but suffered serious losses in both equipment and personnel. Against this backdrop, Ukraine decided to change tactics - to use a comprehensive approach against the Russian army.

“Attrition is bad news, but it plays to Ukraine’s strengths, whereas an attempt to expand the scope of an offensive under such difficult conditions does not,” said US military analysts Michael Kofman of the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) and Rob Lee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

They also argued that “poor understanding of how the Ukrainian military fights and of the operating environment in general could lead to misguided expectations, misguided advice, and unfair criticism among Western officials.”

According to them, the Ukrainian army will find it easier to fight with small, highly mobile assault units – no larger than a company (200 people) or even a platoon (20-50 people). However, to achieve a breakthrough, they will have to coordinate with larger forces, which requires better preparation.

Analysts say the main lesson from the past three months of fighting is that the training period for Ukrainian soldiers in the West (usually five weeks) is too short. Such training does not take into account the strength of the troops, the terrain conditions, including the presence of minefields and fortifications.

* Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 15 accused the Armed Forces of Ukraine (VSU) of widely using cluster munitions in Ukraine.

According to the Russian President, the United States considers itself a special country and gives itself the right to commit crimes, because it uses cluster munitions through the hands of Ukrainians.

“There is one country that finds it exceptional. It is the United States … Even what they consider a crime, they allow themselves to do, because the United States uses cluster munitions. In this case, simply through the hands of the Ukrainians,” Putin noted.

Earlier, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said the US did not rule out continuing to provide new cluster munitions to Ukraine.

On September 12, the official spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, emphasized that the US risks provoking an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine if it decides to transfer long-range missiles and cluster munitions to Ukraine.

* Former Commander of the Joint Forces Group in the Special Military Operations (SVO) region in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, has appeared in Africa.

Photos of him were posted on the Facebook page of Algeria's Abd al-Hamid Ben Badis Mosque.

Mr Surovikin was in Algeria as part of a delegation from the Russian Defense Ministry. “A high-ranking Russian delegation visited the Grand Mosque, where the guests were received by the imam,” the Facebook page said. No other details about the trip were provided.

Earlier, blogger Sergei Kolyasnikov posted a photo of the Russian military leader and announced that Surovikin was abroad, without specifying the location. The Telegram channel VChK-OGPU later reported that the photo was taken in Algeria - Surovikin was photographed during a meeting with Algerian military leaders.

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