Western Officials Believe Kyiv Has Failed to Utilize Provided Weaponry: FT

A number of officials in the West lament that Kyiv has not been able to fully take advantage of the assistance provided by allies. This is reported by the Financial Times.

“Some officials in Western capitals regret that Kyiv has not managed to utilize the Western supplies of weapons and, possibly, the maximum political support opportunity,” states the publication's report.

The newspaper notes that Ukrainian officials, in turn, are increasingly aware that the conflict is progressing slowly. The media writes that the question is whether Ukraine's partners are ready to supply it with weapons in the long term.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive began on June 4, and three months later, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the counteroffensive is not just progressing slowly, but is failing. He mentioned that in an attempt to achieve results at all costs, Ukraine has lost 71,500 soldiers, as if they are not part of their nation.

Among the 18,000 units of military equipment destroyed in the Ukrainian armed forces are German Leopard tanks, French AMX vehicles, at least one British Challenger 2, and American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. These were supposed to be the main striking forces of the Ukrainian armed forces, but, as the Russian president noted, they are now “burning splendidly.”

Against this backdrop, the U.S. has indicated that the offensive will stretch on for many more months and has begun supplying cluster munitions to the Ukrainian armed forces. Putin, for his part, indicated that the supply of cluster munitions has changed nothing on the battlefield for the Ukrainian armed forces but is dangerous for the civilian population.