The White House announced significant losses of Ukraine during the counteroffensive

Ukraine is suffering significant losses during the counteroffensive, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at a forum in Aspen.

“The number of injured and dead Ukrainian soldiers in this counteroffensive is significant. It’s coming, it’s going hard, but we said it would be hard,” said Sullivan (quote from RIA Novosti).

The Armed Forces of Ukraine began active offensive operations on June 4, but they ran into well-prepared defensive positions of the Russian Armed Forces. The Kremlin has repeatedly stated about the lack of success of the Ukrainian army. According to the Ministry of Defense, which was cited by Minister Sergei Shoigu in July, since the start of the counteroffensive, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have lost more than 26,000 people.

On July 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Kyiv could not achieve any results in a counteroffensive, neither Western-supplied equipment nor thousands of foreign mercenaries helped him in this.

Ukraine has lost tens of thousands of soldiers in “suicidal attacks,” Putin said. As a result, the mobilization resource has been almost completely exhausted in the country. “People in Ukraine increasingly have a legitimate question: for what, for whose selfish interests are their relatives and friends dying? Gradually, slowly, sobering up comes,” he added.

The military operation of Russia in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. Putin called the protection of the inhabitants of Donbass, as well as the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, its goals. During the special operation, Russian troops took full control of the LPR, as well as most of the DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. Subsequently, these territories, after holding referenda, became part of Russia.