Russian Arms Shortage ‘More TikTok Propaganda Than Reality’: Ukraine

• A Ukraine colonel told The New York Times that reports of Russian shortages are “TikTok propaganda.”
• Col. Biletsky detailed Ukraine’s counteroffensive in Bakhmut, where Ukraine has regained ground.
• The comments come as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky lands in Japan for the G7 summit.

Russia has for months made the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut the central target of its invasion. It first made gains. But it has more recently lost some of those gains to a Ukraine counteroffensive. 

In the midst of these back-and-forth battles, reports circulated that Russian fighters were poorly equipped. Ukrainian Col. Andriy Biletsky, however, now says those claims are “more TikTok propaganda than reality.”

“The enemy is ready,” Biletsky, the commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade told The New York Times. “They are well personally equipped, armed, they have means of communication, good armored vehicles and a very good system of unmanned aerial vehicles.”

Biletsky’s remarks come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a much-anticipated in-person appearance at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan on Saturday. Zelensky’s effort to convince allies to further support Ukraine with additional weapons has overshadowed the summit’s goal to address issues beyond just the conflict in Ukraine, like China’s use of trade restrictions,  The Washington Post reported.

After months of brutal fighting in Ukraine’s east, Ukrainian forces earlier this month launched a counteroffensive, reclaiming territory in Bakhmut during a three-day battle that appeared to take Russian forces by surprise. 

Biletsky described that counteroffensive in an interview with the Times. He said Ukrainian soldiers advanced on Russian forces as they were rotating units, allowing them to gain an upper hand. He said they attacked as “quickly as possible, immediately trying to advance behind the enemy’s front line.” 

“The No. 1 task was to push back the enemy on the flanks of Bakhmut,” Biletsky told the Times. “We used three types of maneuvers: infiltration, frontal attack, and turning movement.”