Russia claims Ukraine's military resources 'almost exhausted'

MOSCOW: Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that Ukraine’s military resources were “almost exhausted”, as Kyiv wages a gruelling counter offensive to recapture lost territory.

“Despite comprehensive assistance from the West, Ukraine’s armed forces are unable to achieve results,” Shoigu said at a security conference in Moscow.

“Preliminary results of the hostilities show that Ukraine’s military resources are almost exhausted,” he said.

He added that there was “nothing unique” about Western weapons and that they were not invulnerable to Russian arms on the battlefield.

Kyiv kicked off its long anticipated counter offensive in June but has acknowledged tough battles as it struggles to break through heavily fortified Russian positions.

While Ukraine has claimed gains around the war-torn city of Bakhmut in its east, Russia has claimed advances around the town of Kupiansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

Shoigu was speaking at the Moscow Conference on International Security. Russia invited representatives from over 100 nations to attend, but Western countries were excluded.