Putin Says Ukrainian Drone Strikes Eclipse Russian Gains as Kyiv Presses on 2 Frontline Sectors
Updated
Updated · UNITED24 Media · Jun 23
Putin Says Ukrainian Drone Strikes Eclipse Russian Gains as Kyiv Presses on 2 Frontline Sectors
3 articles · Updated · UNITED24 Media · Jun 23
Summary
Putin told military academy graduates that a “huge flow” of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian infrastructure is designed to overshadow Moscow’s battlefield gains and spread public anxiety.
He insisted Russian forces are advancing across the front with no reversals, but independent assessments say Ukrainian troops have made localized gains near Borova in Kharkiv and in the Kostiantynivka-Druzhkivka area of Donetsk.
Those counter-offensives have reportedly forced Russian commanders to send rear-area, non-infantry personnel into combat, underscoring pressure on depleted units despite Kremlin claims of uniform momentum.
Putin also repeated his refusal to hold direct peace talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and did not mention a recent record strike that badly damaged Moscow’s Kapotnya oil refinery.
The remarks fit a broader pattern in which the Kremlin has cast Ukraine’s expanding drone campaign as psychological warfare while sidestepping signs that the war remains contested deep inside Russia and along the front.