Russian president calls Ukraine's losses in counteroffensive 'catastrophic'

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday Ukraine's counteroffensive launched earlier this month was unsuccessful and the casualties it suffered were "catastrophic."

Speaking at a meeting with military correspondents in Moscow, Putin said: "The opponent had no success at any of the sites. They have big losses.

"I'm not going to name the losses by personnel right now, but the structure of losses is so unfavorable for them, they are approaching an assessment that can be called catastrophic."

Comparing Russian losses, he said military casualties were only 1 in 10.

Moreover, only 54 Russian tanks were damaged and out of them some can be repaired, he said.

On the Ukrainian side, 25-30% of the military equipment they received in aid were destroyed, he said, totaling 160 tanks and 600 armored vehicles.

Touching upon the ongoing shelling of Russian border regions, Putin said there is no point in imposing a nationwide martial law, but a "safe zone" could be on the cards if the situation persists.

Asked about the Kakhovka dam collapse, Putin said "the Ukrainian side was striving" to damage it.

"We did not record big explosions, but they purposefully hit the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station with HIMARS," he said, referring to US-made weapons.

The collapse of the dam in southern Ukraine on June 6 has led to flooding.

Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for damaging the walls of the dam in strikes.​​​​​​​