Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery (Photo: Reuters).
According to the military news site Avia Pro , at a meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry on November 21, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Ukrainian army, when faced with Russia's strong defense system, had lost its fighting spirit. This caused many of them to choose the path of surrender instead of continuing to fight.
Sputnik quoted the Russian Defense Minister as saying that Ukrainian forces have suffered significant losses in the past month of fighting.
"In total, since the beginning of the month, the enemy has lost more than 13,700 people, about 1,800 units of various weapons and military equipment," Shoigu said.
Minister Shoigu confirmed that the Ukrainian armed forces were unsuccessful in conducting a landing operation in the direction of Kherson.
"All attempts by the Ukrainian armed forces to conduct a landing operation in the Kherson direction were unsuccessful. Due to the proactive and professional actions of Russian servicemen, the marine units and special forces of the Ukrainian army are suffering significant losses," Shoigu added.
In addition, the Russian Defense Minister stated that the Russian armed forces are controlling positions along the entire front line in the area of military operations and are gradually improving their positions.
Ukraine began its counter-offensive in June after receiving additional weapons and training from the West. However, the counter-offensive has been slower than expected due to Russia's formidable multi-layered defense system.
The slow counterattack raises the view that Ukraine will find it difficult to achieve its goal of retaking all its territory from Russia, at least in the near future.
Defense experts say Ukraine’s counteroffensive is unlikely to produce any breakthroughs this year. However, they note that it is important for Ukraine to make at least some progress in order to maintain Western support into 2024 and beyond.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country's military would continue its counter-offensive this fall and winter. He asserted that Ukraine would retake the strategic eastern city of Bakhmut and two other important cities.
At a meeting on November 21, Minister Shoigu stated that maintaining all elements of Russia's strategic nuclear forces in a state of combat readiness is an important task.
"An important task remains to maintain all components of strategic nuclear forces at full readiness," Shoigu said.
According to Minister Shoigu, the share of modern ships in Russia's nuclear triad has reached 100%, and said that the Russian submarine force will be equipped with three modern multipurpose ships with the Kalibr missile system.
"Russian ships have been on combat duty to deter NATO naval forces on the high seas. In 2023, more than 50 voyages were completed, covering more than 200,000 nautical miles," Shoigu stressed.
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