Russian senator promises new offensive in Ukraine
The Russian military will go on the offensive once the situation on the ground becomes “favorable,” Senator Dmitry Perminov, a member of the defense committee of Russia’s Federation Council, the country’s upper chamber, has said.
“We are currently grinding up the armed forces of Ukraine. When the moment is favorable for us, our army will go on the offensive,” Perminov told Russian news outlet URA.RU in an interview published on Sunday.
The senator expressed doubts that negotiations between Moscow and Kiev will happen any time soon, reiterating a stance repeatedly voiced by top Russian officials.
“The American masters are not allowing [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky to sit down at the negotiating table. Moreover, at their behest a law was passed that directly prohibits him from conducting negotiations with the Russian Federation,” the senator noted, referring to legislation adopted by Ukraine last fall.
Perminov also touched on Ukraine’s long-heralded counteroffensive effort, launched by Kiev in early June. The offensive did not yield any tangible results, resulting in heavy losses for the Ukrainian military, with thousands of servicemen killed or wounded, as well as a sizeable amount of Western-supplied military hardware lost.
Lack of progress has already angered Western handlers of Ukrainian authorities, the senator noted, apparently referring to numerous publications’ criticisms about Kiev’s lack of progress, as well as the heavy losses and questionable tactics of its troops.
“We see that their Western masters are dissatisfied with the results of the offensive. They expected more from them. These grievances are beginning to come out directly,” Perminov stated.
“For almost two months now, a counteroffensive has been going on but it has not led to any success for the Ukrainian nationalists. They lost a lot of their servicemen, manpower, and weapons that the West provided them,” he added.
