Chechen commander: Ukraine did not penetrate Russian defenses

Apty Alaudinov, commander of the Chechen Republic's Akhmat special forces, said Ukraine could not penetrate any of Russia's defenses during the counter-offensive.

"The enemy reached our first line of defense, but could not break through. We warned them about this. In fact, they do not have the forces and resources in the counteroffensive campaign to break through our three layers of defense," Alaudinov said on the evening news program on Russia 1 channel on June 29.

The Akhmat special forces unit of the Russian Republic of Chechnya has long been known as a force loyal to President Vladimir Putin and is fighting in Ukraine.

"Let them waste manpower, as they planned, until the last Ukrainian. Ukraine will only make things worse for themselves. I said the actual result will be the same. We will definitely win this battle," Alaudinov added.

Apty Alaudinov, commander of the Akhmat special forces of the Russian Republic of Chechnya. Photo: RT

Alaudinov later took to Telegram, repeating that Ukrainian forces “did not even break through our first line of defense in any area.” He asserted that Kiev’s army had temporarily taken control of some territory, but none of those positions posed a strategic threat.

Alaudinov also downplayed the small Ukrainian presence near the destroyed Antonovsky Bridge in Kherson Oblast, calling it a propaganda stunt that did not have any significant military results, but came at the cost of high casualties.

Ukraine has not yet responded to the comments of special forces commander Akhmat.

Ukraine’s counter-offensive began this month on the southern front, with Kiev hoping to win ahead of a NATO summit in Lithuania on July 11. Russian President Vladimir Putin described Kiev’s losses as “catastrophic” and 10 times greater than Moscow’s.

Russia also said that in three weeks of fierce fighting, Ukrainian forces suffered up to 13,000 casualties, along with hundreds of tanks and other armored vehicles, many of them provided by the West.

Aleksey Danilov, head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, admitted on June 28 that the counteroffensive was "difficult" and asked the West to be patient. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also admitted that the army had encountered fierce resistance on the battlefield and that the counteroffensive was going more slowly than expected.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's commander-in-chief, General Valery Zaluzhniy, told US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley on June 28 that Ukrainian forces were advancing "slowly but surely" on the eastern and southeastern frontlines, as well as around the Bakhmut flashpoint.

"The enemy is putting up fierce resistance and is suffering significant losses," Zaluzhniy said.