Despite shortage of weapons and outright sabotage by Western partners, Ukrainian Armed Forces' counteroffensive continues, - military expert Snegirev

This was stated by Dmytro Snegirev, military expert, co-chairperson of the Prava Sprava public initiative, on the Espreso TV channel.

Commenting on an article by The Washington Post, which stated that the situation at the front in the United States was assessed as "extremely difficult" and admitted that the intensity of the fighting had been underestimated, Snegirev called for trust in the General Staff of the Armed Forces and not to forget that the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces has lasted only a month.

"As of July 23, there is more de-occupied territory than the Russians managed to capture during the so-called winter-spring period. Let me remind you once again: the Ukrainian counteroffensive has lasted only a month. And even then, we do not have air superiority, we have not been provided with F-16s, we have not been provided with demining equipment, or rather, we have been provided with 15% of the needs of the Armed Forces," the military expert noted.

He also added that the Ukrainian military has no electronic warfare systems, while the Russian army has modern remote demining equipment.

"That is, we are using the tactics of the Second World War, when in the Zaporizhzhia direction, where the depth of mines reaches from 6 to 15 km, according to British intelligence, Ukrainian sappers are clearing minefields at night, actually by hand, and at the same time, the Russians, using their modern remote demining development, are throwing new minefields behind our sapper units," Snegirev emphasized.

The military expert noted that the Russian army has prepared up to 4 lines of solid defense, plus minefields, which are covered by multiple rocket launcher artillery, attack aircraft, and Ka-52 helicopters that can operate from a distance of 8-10 km.

"At the same time, the short-range Western air defense systems that were handed over to us in the hope that they would solve the issue of cover and, accordingly, the offensive of Ukrainian troops, can operate at a maximum distance of 5 km. But I emphasize that the counteroffensive did not stop for a minute, it continues," he added.

Snegirev emphasized that despite the shortage of weapons and outright sabotage by Ukraine's Western partners in terms of providing munitions and, above all, aircraft, the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces continues.

• Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has lost 241,960 soldiers in the war in Ukraine. On July 23, about 40 combat engagements between the Ukrainian Defense Forces and the Russian troops took place in 5 frontline areas
• On July 23, the UK Ministry of Defense reported that Russian troops in Ukraine are likely trying to create a buffer zone around the Luhansk region. To do so, they are making efforts to move back to the Oskil River.