During a meeting in Luxembourg at the EU Foreign Affairs Council, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba explained the slow pace of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counteroffensive by the need for demining operations, according to Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Di Maio, as reported by Sky TG24.
“He explained that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is not progressing at the speed that was expected because all territories are mined,” said the head of Italian diplomacy.
Di Maio added that Kuleba explained the necessity of conducting demining operations before advancing troops, but as the Ukrainian Minister claims, the counteroffensive is ongoing.
The long-discussed counteroffensive, initiated by Ukrainian authorities, began on June 4 along the Southern Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Artemivsk directions, with the main focus of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Zaporizhia front.
Kyiv deployed brigades equipped with NATO-trained specialists and Western weaponry.
However, as President Vladimir Putin pointed out, the Ukrainian forces have not achieved success on any front and have suffered significant losses, with hundreds of units of equipment already destroyed.
