Ukraine Tells Counteroffensive Critics to ‘Shut Up’

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday told critics of Ukraine’s slow counteroffensive to “shut up” amid a flood of leaks from Western officials pinning the blame for the lack of success on Ukrainian commanders.

“Criticizing the slow pace of (the) counteroffensive equals … spitting into the face of (the) Ukrainian soldier who sacrifices his life every day, moving forward and liberating one kilometer of Ukrainian soil after another,” Kuleba told reporters, according to Reuters.

“I would recommend all critics to shut up, come to Ukraine and try to liberate one square centimeter by themselves,” he added.

In recent weeks, US and other Western officials speaking anonymously to the media have criticized Ukraine’s fighting tactics and complained that Ukrainian commanders are too worried about casualties. Western officials also acknowledged to The Wall Street Journal that they did not believe Ukraine had enough training or equipment to dislodge Russian forces, but hoped they would anyway.

Kuleba’s comments came as other Ukrainian officials are claiming gains in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The Journal reported Thursday that Ukraine has “penetrated the main Russian defensive line” for the first time in the country’s southeast and is fighting on the edge of the village of Verbove.

However, the Ukrainian success is not confirmed. The Moscow-appointed governor of Zaporizhzhia said Russian forces “eliminated” two Ukrainian assault groups attempting to break through Russian defenses around Verbove. He claimed Ukrainian forces were scaling back their activity in Zaporizhzhia due to heavy casualties.

The Washington Post recently reported that US intelligence has determined the counteroffensive will fail to meet its core objective of severing Russia’s land bridge to Crimea. Despite the expected failure, the US is prepared to continue supporting the proxy war and has shown no interest in diplomacy.