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

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, CHANGES DECK, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that 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 enemy had no success at any of the sites.

"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 one in 10, and only 54 Russian tanks were damaged, some of which could be repaired.

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

- No martial law but 'safe zone'

Touching upon the ongoing shelling of Russian border regions, Putin said martial law was not needed, 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 see big explosions, but they purposefully hit the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station with HIMARS," he said, referring to the US-made weapons.

Both Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for the June 6 breach of the dam in southern Ukraine, which flooded swathes of territory.

- Depleted uranium, nuclear escalation

About supplies of ammunition with depleted uranium, announced by the US and UK, Putin said if Ukraine starts using them, Russia reserves the right to use them as well.

According to the Russian president, Ukraine's army uses some 5,000 shells per day while the US produces 15,000 per month.

"So they must have emptied reserves of conventional ammunition, but there are still shells with depleted uranium thus the decision (to deliver them to Ukraine)," he said.

Commenting on the possibility of the supply of tactical nuclear weapons to Ukraine, Putin said the US "pretends" that it has no concerns about possible escalation.

[The US] pretends that it is not afraid of [the escalation of the conflict]. In fact, there are a lot of people with a healthy head there, and they clearly do not want to lead the case to World War III, in which there will be no winners, including the United States," he said.