2023-09-18 07:42:00
Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine to CNN: “We have liberated 300 square kilometers”
Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar says her country has been able to liberate 300 square kilometers since the start of Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the summer.
“In total, during the summer campaign we liberated 300 square kilometers,” Maliar told CNN senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen in an interview, downplaying the number and highlighting the difficult conditions that Ukrainian forces have been able to overcome.
“Contrary to what military science believes, the Ukrainians took a risk and launched an offensive when the enemy had more weapons and more people,” he explained. “Military science says that you have to do it when you have superiority. That is not possible in our situation. We have to fight as it is.”
“It’s not regarding the number of kilometers released. “It is regarding our forces being able to advance under these conditions,” he added.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive moved more slowly than expected, but Maliar says Kyiv has been doing so to avoid losses, which she says are far below those Russia is suffering.
“It is very important to understand that, according to military science, the advancing side suffers more casualties than the defending side. But in our case all military operations are so well calculated that we lose fewer people than the Russians,” he explained. “In the south the ratio is one Ukrainian to five Russians. In the east, towards Bakhmut, we lose eight times fewer people than the Russians.”
CNN might not independently verify Maliar’s claims regarding Ukrainian or Russian casualties, but Western officials and independent analysts believe Moscow has consistently suffered larger losses.
Maliar also reiterated that the counteroffensive “is going according to plan,” but said Ukraine needed additional international support.
“Ukraine does not have enough weapons. And we fight once morest a superior enemy, both in personnel and in weapons. We can easily see this by the number of bombardments and rounds used. We use nine or ten times fewer bullets,” he explained. “We have better motivation, we are more resilient and professional, but we lack weapons. To advance quickly and effectively we need weapons.”
“The Ukrainian people are very grateful for all the support from Western countries. We know that our victories are impossible without help from the West,” he added.
Despite the difficulties, Maliar believes in Ukraine’s ultimate success.
“We believe in our victory. We are in our land, there is no turning back. We will defend our country until we liberate all our territories,” he said.
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