Defense Minister Shoigu claims Russia has thwarted Ukrainian army’s counteroffensive, but evidence thin
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu claims that Russia has successfully thwarted the “long heralded” Ukrainian counteroffensive, by allegedly disrupting the assaults carried out by Ukrainian units on multiple segments of the front over the past three days.
According to Shoigu, on June 4, the Ukrainian army deployed its 23rd and 31st mechanized infantry brigades in an attempt to advance along five different directions, allegedly failing on all counts. The Russian defense minister reports that the Ukrainian army lost 300 troops, 16 tanks, 26 armored fighting vehicles, and 14 ordinary vehicles in the unsuccessful offensives on Sunday.
Similarly, on June 5, Shoigu says, the Armed Forces of Ukraine attempted to advance along seven directions, using five brigades. According to the minister, the AFU lost 1,600 servicemen, 28 tanks (including eight Leopards), and three AMX-10 wheeled tanks that day.
Over the past three days, Shoigu reports, the AFU lost a total of 3,715 troops, as well as 52 tanks, 207 armored vehicles, five airplanes, two helicopters, 48 field artillery systems, and 53 drones. The Russian army, on the other hand, has only lost 71 servicemen in deflecting the offensive. Although, in Shoigu’s words, another 210 troops have been wounded, these numbers have raised some eyebrows even among the pro-Kremlin segment of war commentators on Telegram.
Shoigu’s figures cannot be confirmed based on available open-source evidence. Footage published by war bloggers shows the destruction of just 20 units of Ukrainian military equipment, including some tanks. Aerial photos of three AMX-10 tanks are also circulating, but their location and the condition of the tanks are unclear.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has also posted footage labeled as “destruction of Leopard tanks,” but whether the tanks in the video are really Leopards or not is also uncertain.
