Fuel shortages, 30 km forced marches for infantry: Ukraine’s defence minister outlines bad news for Russians
Ukraine's Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov says that strikes on Russian military targets in temporarily occupied Crimea and south of Ukraine have led to serious logistical problems for Russian forces and the "accumulation of a large number of crises".
Source: Fedorov at a joint press conference in Kyiv with his Swedish counterpart Pål Jonson, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine
Details: "What will happen next? We will see later. You will definitely see it in Russian posts and various sources of information. For now, we will not spoil it. But we already see, for example, in the south, certain sections of the front where Russian infantry, due to disrupted logistics, are moving 30 km on foot to reach their positions," Fedorov said, responding to a question about the consequences of strikes on temporarily occupied Crimea and south of Ukraine.
According to Fedorov, Russian forces are facing major difficulties in transporting infantry to the battlefield and supplying them, as well as problems with fuel for generators used by UAV operators. He stressed that "there is a large number of problems which, at first glance, are not obvious but which affect the intensity of the enemy's actions in attacking Ukrainian territories".
Fedorov noted that Ukraine is also observing a continuing crisis for Russia in critical infrastructure and fuel supply.
In particular, in Crimea there have been announcements about selling fuel via QR codes, which were later cancelled, and at present it is reportedly impossible to purchase fuel at all. "That is, a large number of crises are beginning to accumulate, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for Russians to deal with one crisis after another," Fedorov emphasised.
Fedorov added that this operation by Ukraine's defence forces is ongoing. Separately, he recalled the 40-day operation, announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, aimed at exerting pressure on Russia to force it towards peace, "which continues to be implemented".
"Therefore, everything is going according to plan. It is important to increase the intensity of strikes, increase the involvement of resources for this, and to receive tranches from the European loan more quickly," Fedorov said, noting that Ukraine received the first tranche of the European loan on 30 June.
Fedorov described this as "bad news for Russians", as the Ministry of Defence is now increasing the intensity of procurement in order to continue seizing the initiative on the battlefield.
Subscribe on Patreon to back our journalism long-term.