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On June 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an official comment on the ongoing large-scale advance on Russian forces in several directions.
Putin stated that Kyiv’s use of strategic reserves during recent attacks means it can be “stated with absolute certainty” that the Ukrainian “counteroffensive” has started.
“We can state with absolute certainty that this Ukrainian counteroffensive has begun, and the use of strategic reserves points to it,” Putin said at a press conference.
“As to whether the [counteroffensive has got] bogged down or not, it can be said that all counteroffensive attempts made so far have failed. But the offensive potential of the troops of the Kiev regime still remains.”
The president noted that particularly heavy fighting has been ongoing for five days, with Russian troops managing to hold their positions.
“I would like to note that this tragedy is due to the events that took place in previous years, and the responsibility for them lies entirely with the Kiev regime, whose primary source of power is a coup,” the Russian leader specified.
According to Putin, the Russian military leadership is assessing the situation with the enemy offensive and will proceed from the realities on the battlefield. In addition, he pointed to the development of the Russian domestic military-industrial complex citing as an example the increase in the production of modern weapons.
