JRL NEWSWATCH: Ukraine defies odds by advancing in counteroffensive – senior official” – Reuters
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“Ukraine has made progress in its counteroffensive … proving it can push back a better-armed and numerically superior enemy, [Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar] said … Tuesday. Ukrainian troops have faced vast Russian minefields and trenches …. Maliar brushed aside any suggestion that Kyiv’s progress was too slow …. ‘It’s incorrect to measure this advance by metres or kilometres,’ Maliar [said]. ‘What’s important is the very fact that despite everything, we’re moving forward even though we have fewer people and fewer weapons.’ She said she was unaware of any Western pressure … to accelerate operations, and challenged the idea of a universally ‘correct’ tempo. Maliar highlighted the grinding attrition … particularly in Ukraine’s east, where she said Russian forces – who also enjoy air superiority – can fire 400,000-500,000 artillery shells each week or around 10 times more than Ukraine. …”