Kiev claims Russia suffered heavy casualties in counteroffensive

The government in Kiev claims that the Ukrainian military has inflicted heavy casualties on the Russian occupying forces during its offensive.
"Despite false Russian reports to the contrary, the Ukrainian army suffered only a fraction of the casualties during its offensive compared to the occupiers," Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on Telegram on Wednesday.
According to her, the ratio in the Bakhmut area is almost 1:9, and in southern Ukraine it is more than 1:5. This information cannot be verified independently.
In the past few days, the Russian Defence Ministry repeatedly stated that it has thwarted the Ukrainian offensive and inflicted heavy casualties on the attacking troops.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke of "catastrophic losses" for Kiev, apparently referring to the ministry's figures. Maliar denied this information as a disinformation campaign aimed at demoralizing the Ukrainian side.
According to media reports, the Ukrainian offensive that has been under way since the beginning of June is only making slow progress.