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Question: A lot of news came from the front yesterday. The news reported yesterday by the Chief of the General Staff [Valery Gerasimov] and the Defence Minister [Sergei Shoigu] sounded good.

Is it safe to say that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has got bogged down, and we managed to neutralise the Kiev regime’s offensive potential?

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: To answer that, I need to switch gears quickly and go from one issue to another, but here is what I can say to answer your question.

First, we can safely state that the offensive has begun. We know this from the fact that the Ukrainian army tapped its strategic reserves. This is my first point.

Second, the Ukrainian troops failed to achieve their goals in all combat sectors, which is clear as day.

Like I said earlier, the intense hostilities have been going on for five days now. For example, the fighting was intense over the past 48 hours, and the enemy was not successful in any area of operations.

All of that is due to the courage and heroism of our soldiers and the good organisation and command of the troops, as well as the high effectiveness of Russian weapons, especially the latest weapons.

Indeed, we still do not have enough of the latest weapons, but the arms industry, the country's defence industry is making strides, and I am sure that the defence industry will, without a doubt, fulfil its goals. The production of modern types of weapons is going at a fast pace.

Over these days, we have seen the Ukrainian regime suffer significant causalities. As is known, losses routinely amount to about three to one during offensive operations. But in this case, they are much higher. I am not going to give these figures, but they are striking.

Notably, this tragedy stems from the events of the previous years, and the responsibility for this tragedy lies entirely with the current Kiev regime, the primary source of power of which is the coup that took place in Ukraine in 2014.

I cannot say that the offensive has got bogged down. All I can say is that the counteroffensive attempts that have been made so far failed. But the offensive potential of the Kiev’s regime is still there.

I believe Russia's military leadership is realistic in its assessments of the situation and will proceed from these realities as it continues to plan up our actions in the short term.

Thank you.