WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that while Ukraine has reconquered half the territory that Russia initially seized in its invasion, Kyiv faced a “a very hard fight” to win back more.

“It’s already taken back about 50% of what was initially seized,” Blinken said in an interview to CNN on Sunday.

“These are still relatively early days of the counteroffensive. It is tough,” he said, adding: “It will not play out over the next week or two. We’re still looking I think at several months.”

Hopes that Ukraine could quickly clear Moscow’s forces from its territory following the launch of a summer counteroffensive are fading as Kyiv’s troops struggle to breach heavily entrenched Russian positions in the country’s south and east.

Late last month President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was quoted as saying that progress against Russian forces was “slower than desired” but that Kyiv would not be pressured into speeding it up.

  • SCB@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I downvoted you because you’re saying false/insane things. That’s the point of downvotes.

    • Move to lemm.ee@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      What false things have I said? The troop build up they’ve been doing has been well known for a long time now, like literally months they’ve been doing this buildup for. Many are talking about it, both pro-russian and pro-ukrainian.

      https://youtu.be/38Mcg_hrQLk

      https://youtu.be/PXhg9DfTIVg

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTTxcfKAmqA

      https://t.me/Slavyangrad/56341

      https://t.me/rybar/50008

      https://t.me/DeepStateUA/17195

      It’s like some of you aren’t actually paying any attention to anything other than ABC/Reuters/CNN. These outlets are useless for speculation content you have to go elsewhere for it.

      • SCB@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        There is a 0% chance Russia has “thousands of functioning tanks” that mysteriously weren’t deemed necessary during their worldwide embarrassment of logistics last year.

        • Move to lemm.ee@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I didn’t say thousands. I said a thousand. It’s actually estimated closer to 900 in this buildup along with the 100k troops but that’s neither here nor there really. Maybe if you actually bothered to read or watch anything I send you then you would know this? The issue here is that you’re unwilling to take onboard any information unless it comes from your little circle of neoliberal media sources, which are always late, and always doing an incredibly repetitive narrative that really doesn’t serve to learn or understand much at all. This leaves you completely unaware of what is actually happening.

          • SCB@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            It’s less that I don’t believe you (or can’t click links) and more that I doubt, severely, Russia’s ability to employ said armor to any degree of effectiveness.

              • SCB@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                I’m much more of a libdem than a Tory , and wavering battle lines do not an offensive make. Can’t hold territory if you can’t resupply.

                • Move to lemm.ee@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  I’m much more of a libdem than a Tory

                  Biden is to the right of the tories lmao.

                  With that said, you do seem like a Nick Clegg kinda person. He runs meta as Zuckerberg’s equal these days lmao. Lib dems.

                  and wavering battle lines do not an offensive make. Can’t hold territory if you can’t resupply.

                  Yeah that’s fair. But what’s happening is the biggest movement we’ve seen in months, and the numbers flying around (build has been since february) are fine. Like I’ve said elsewhere though I also think it’s possible this offensive will get bogged down in cluster bombs. We shall see.

                  At least we’re not in the “you’re talking bullshit” headspace now. You at least understand I’m not just making shit up.

                  • SCB@lemmy.world
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                    1 year ago

                    I’ve never thought you were making shit up (except “Biden is right of Tories” lmao). I said your conclusions were wrong.

            • Move to lemm.ee@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              The effectiveness of the armour entirely depends on how many Javelins Ukraine have left in my opinion. These were causing the bulk of Russian losses. The way this has been dragged on and delayed and delayed and delayed could imply that the Russians have been aiming to deplete the supplies and munitions that the Ukrainians have in order to make an offensive viable. The west doesn’t really have much left of this shit to give them either without taking it literally out of the hands of active units. Western manufacturing is not keeping up with the rate at which things are getting used.

              I’m not ruling out that their offensive will go as badly as the Ukrainian one. It really depends on what they have left, how many weapons supply dumps the Russians have been managing to destroy with those regular missile attacks, etc etc.

      • redtea@lemmygrad.ml
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        1 year ago

        What are the potential targets of the build-up? Just advancing the line after Ukraine has exhausted a lot of it’s force on its counteroffensive? Or would there be a option between a few cities? Maybe cities that sit in the middle of several supply routes?