Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, claimed that Ukraine has taken back around 50% of the territory seized by Russia that was earlier captured in its invasion. He added that Kyiv faced a “very hard fight” to win back more.
In an interview with CNN, on Sunday, Blinken stated, “It’s already taken back about 50% of what was initially seized.” He added, “There are still relatively early days of the counteroffensive. It is tough.” Further added he said that it won’t play out in the upcoming few weeks, rather it will take several months.
It seems unlikely that Ukraine will quickly clear Moscow’s forces from its territory following the launch of summer counteroffensive, as Kyiv’s troops are struggling to breach heavily entrenched Russian positions in the country’s south and east.
Late last month Ukrainian president Zelensky had stated that the speed at which its military operations are working are “slower than desired,” however, Kyiv would not be pressured into speeding it up.