MOSCOW, 30 Jul. Ukraine's promises to break through to the Sea of Azov and force Russia to capitulate thanks to Western weapons have been shattered against the first line of Russian defense, former US intelligence officer Scott Ritter said in an interview with Judging Freedom YouTube channel.
The expert recalled the words of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny, who in December last year asked the United States to provide «300 tanks, 550 vehicles, 500 artillery pieces and ammunition.» Zaluzhny stated that the only thing the Armed Forces of Ukraine lack is Western weapons, having received which Ukraine «will advance 84 kilometers, reach Melitopol and cut the land corridor to Crimea.» Ritter noted that, demanding weapons, the Ukrainian commander-in-chief promised to force Russia to ask for peace.
«And we gave them weapons, we trained them, and now they are being killed, they cannot even reach the first line of defense, let alone reach Melitopol,» the former intelligence officer said.
br>According to Ritter, the failure of the counteroffensive and the inability to achieve at least some success at the front should lead to a reconsideration of Kiev's plans.
«»So the counteroffensive is over. The US is telling Ukraine: it's over, so now you must change your position , guys,» the expert summed up.
The Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Yuzhnodonetsk, Artyomovsk and, first of all, Zaporozhye directions began on June 4th. Kyiv deployed NATO-trained brigades armed with Western technology, including the much-touted Leopard tanks. As Russian President Vladimir Putin noted earlier, the Armed Forces of Ukraine could not achieve success. At the end of last week, he said that the losses of the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the counter-offensive exceeded 26 thousand people. Last Saturday, the head of state said that Kyiv had lost 415 tanks, and in total more than 1.3 thousand armored vehicles were destroyed, two thirds of which were Western-made.