Russian President Vladimir Putin has not publicly commented on the losses incurred by his forces this month after the Ukrainian Defense Forces liberated important areas around Kharkiv. Ukrainian officials say they have retaken 9,000 square kilometers, an area roughly the size of the island of Cyprus and more than the size of the country occupied by the Russian military since April.
“The Russian army has now suffered significant losses – both in troops and in equipment,” German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Friday. on Reuters In a published interview.
He added that “the idea of Russian forces having unlimited military assets … does not correspond to reality,” noting that to Russia He has a lot of equipment to repair and is struggling to recruit enough new soldiers. According to the minister, it will be interesting to find out the truth about the remaining reserves of the Russian army. He thinks it is much less than he initially thought.
“However, one should not think about the situation: Russia is far from defeated and still has different military options,” Lambrecht explained. The German minister praised the courage of the Russians who publicly criticized Putin, although, he said, he did not expect the indignation to be enough to bring down Putin in the short term.
“When you see the system of intimidation that Putin has built consistently over the past few years, it is impressive when people in Russia express their criticism so openly. But I don’t have the impression that this discontent has reached a level that is close to Putin’s downfall,” the minister added.
According to Lambrecht, Berlin is ready to support Kyiv in the long term
For months, Ukraine has been urging Berlin to supply Kyiv with more heavy weapons and to begin supplying modern Western tanks, which Olaf Schulz The German chancellor repeatedly refused. Lambrecht on Thursday promised to deliver more rocket launchers, missiles and armored personnel carriers to Kyiv, but not the tanks the country orders.
When asked if he expects the German people to support the Russians next winter PenaltiesDespite skyrocketing energy prices and high inflation, Lambrecht said the government needed to make it clear that it was addressing the existential concerns of people in Germany.
“Of course we can’t counter everything,” Lambrecht added, adding that “if we can do that (to address existential concerns), I’m sure people’s support for Ukraine here in the country will remain strong.”
