Ukrainian Commander Admits Professionalism of Russian Forces Stalls Counteroffensive

Oleksandr Tarnavsky, commander of the Tavria combat group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said in an interview with the BBC that Russian forces are preventing Ukrainian forces from advancing

MOSCOW, July 27 /TASS/. Commander of Ukrainian armed force battlegroup "Tavria" Alexander Tarnavsky acknowledged that professional qualities of Russian forces prevent Kiev from achieving a success on the battlefield.

Speaking in an interview for BBC, he disclosed that Russian forces do not allow Ukrainian troops to move forward.

"I don't underestimate the enemy," the commander, who previously already noted the slow rate of progress, said.

Usually, Ukrainian authorities try to cite different reasons to explain the lack of progress. Thus, Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov acknowledged for CNN that the counteroffensive lags behind schedule, explaining it by the shortage of ammunition and air defense systems. Ukrainian air force spokesman Yury Ignat noted the supremacy of Russian force in electronic warfare, calling it one reason why the counteroffensive stalls.

As the Russian Defense Ministry reported, the Ukrainian army has made unsuccessful offensive attempts since June 4. On July 11, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that Ukraine’s losses since the beginning of the counteroffensive exceeded 26,000 servicemen. Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that the Ukrainian troops had not achieved any success in any direction. During the meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, on July 23, he stated that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has failed.

Russian fighters show mass heroism repelling latest Ukrainian attack — Putin

It is reported that the enemy used a large number of armored vehicles: 50 units, of which 39 units, including 26 tanks and 13 armored vehicles, were destroyed

ST. PETERSBURG, July 27. /TASS/. Russian servicemen showed the best examples of mass heroism when repelling the latest attack by Ukrainian forces in the Zaporozhye area, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"I can say without any exaggeration that our soldiers and officers demonstrated the best examples of mass heroism. The enemy used a large number of armored vehicles: 50 units, of which 39 units, including 26 tanks and 13 armored vehicles, were destroyed," Putin said.

He said that 60% of the vehicles were destroyed by the 810th Marine Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet and the 71st Regiment of the 42nd Division of the 58th Army of the Southern Military District, and another 40% by combat aviation.

"On my orders, government awards will be bestowed on our boys right in the combat zone today. And I have also instructed the Defense Ministry to prepare proposals for awarding honorary titles to these units," Putin said.