Layered Russian Defense Built Along Entire Frontline Ahead of Counteroffensive, Shoigu Says
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia has built deeply layered defense along the entire line of contact before Ukraine’s counteroffensive, but the location of Kiev’s main attack was not known beforehand, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday.
"Realizing that we cannot waste time waiting, the president [Vladimir Putin] decided to create a deeply layered defense line along the entire line of contact," Shoigu told reporters, adding that the armed forces still had a goal to find out the location of Ukraine’s main attack.
According to the minister, at least 260 NATO satellites are working to support the Ukrainian troops on the battlefield, including 67 specialized ones.
"There are 67 NATO satellites alone, special reconnaissance satellites. And if we take together the satellite grouping of countries that support NATO countries, then this turns out to be 260 satellites that work against us and transmit information about movement and many other things almost online," Shoigu said.
The main goal of Ukraine's counteroffensive was to reach the Sea of Azov, he noted.
"The aim was making a corridor to Mariupol, there ... Melitopol-Berdyansk, and the enemy had to go to Azov, regain the Sea of Azov, move ... to the Crimea. The whole idea that they tried to bring to life was dedicated to this," he emphasized.
However, the Ukrainian troops did not even reach the first line of defense during their counteroffensive, Shoigu said.
The Ukrainian command planned to deploy up to 160,000 troops, 800 tanks and 150 aircraft and helicopters during the counteroffensive, according to the minister.
"By the word 'serious' [counteroffensive] we mean not 100, not 200 people, when a group of almost 160,000 was being prepared, or to be more precise, 110 battalions plus 30 battalions almost in reserve, 800 tanks, almost 150 aircraft – airplanes and helicopters, more than 2,500 armored vehicles," Shoigu said.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive last year was planned abroad, mainly in the Baltic States, Russian,
“It was all planned, naturally, by the staff and the headquarters that was created, it still works there today... It works like in the near abroad, in their neighboring countries … the Baltic States,” Shoigu told reporters.
The failure of Kiev’s operation showed that their methods "are not so unique and successful," the minister added.
Capture of Avdeyevka
Russia has been preparing the operation to take control of Avdeyevka since the fall of 2023, the Russian defense minister said.
"Preparations for it [the operation] began a long time ago, it required to create a sufficiently large number of forces in north and south-west of Avdeyevka. The General Staff has been planning this work, preparing for it ... since last fall," Shoigu told Putin.
The Russian General Staff managed to carry out the operation to take control of Avdeyevka with minimal losses, the minister said, adding that Russian troops carried out 460 strikes per day on the city, which is 200 tonnes of ammunition.
Russian offensive operations after fight for Avdeyevka are directed west, 72 square kilometers (27.7 square miles) have been taken under control, Shoigu said.
Western Failure
Minister Sergei Shoigu also said that the West, which has been backing the Kiev regime against Moscow, has not managed to conduct a single successful military operation anywhere in the world, and everyone knows this.
"Neither you nor I can name a single place where they would have successfully carried out even a small-scale [military] operation, be it Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria," he said.
Territory of Syria controlled by government forces has increased from 17% to over 90% thanks to Russian military personnel, the minister added.
Nuclear Weapons in Space
In another development, in the wake of Western rumors that Russia has nuclear weapons in space, Shoigu stressed during the meeting with President Putin that Moscow has not deployed nuclear weapons in space.
"Firstly, there is no such thing [nuclear weapons in space]. Secondly, they know that we don’t have them... Nevertheless, they make noise," Shoigu said.
