The Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced today, Tuesday, that the Ukrainian forces have lost more than 66,000 soldiers and 7,600 weapons since they launched a counterattack against the Russian forces last June.

Shoigu said, in press statements, “Since the start of the so-called counterattack, Ukraine’s losses have exceeded 66,000 soldiers and 7,600 weapons,” stressing that “the Ukrainian army has not achieved its goals during the three months since the start of the counterattack, while the Russian armed forces continue to work along entire line of communication.

He added that the Ukrainian armed forces “did not achieve their goals in any of the regions,” pointing out that “the Ukrainian leadership is desperately trying to show Western secretaries at least some success in offensive operations in order to obtain more military and economic assistance, which only leads to prolongation of the conflict.

The Ukrainian counterattack aims to liberate the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Kherson, which are partially controlled by Russian forces, in addition to its endeavor to restore the Crimean peninsula overlooking the Black Sea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency