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Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday that his forces were maintaining "active defense" in the face of Ukraine's counteroffensive and that Moscow had no choice but to win.
Shoigu said the autumn campaign was now underway and admitted in comments to a reporter for state TV Rossiya-1 that the situation at the front was difficult in some places.
" The forces are maintaining active defense on necessary, essential fronts. In some places it is more difficult, in others simpler.
But I can say that the guys and the commander are performing confidently and they are certainly protecting what we have to protect at the moment - those places, obviously, where the Ukrainian armed forces are trying to penetrate. The main task was to knock down the enemy's armament , "he said.
Russia controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine's territory after more than 18 months of war, but has been forced to retreat from large areas it seized in its initial invasion near the capital Kiev and in the south and east.
Ukraine launched a long-awaited counteroffensive in June that has retaken more than a dozen villages, but has been complicated by large minefields and deeply entrenched Russian forces.
Asked if Russia would win, Shoigu replied: "We have no other options."
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