Ukraine’s Foreign Minister: Russia Is Not Winning the War
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, addressed recent discussions on the war’s trajectory, strongly rejecting claims that Russia is winning the conflict. In his statement, Sybiha emphasized the resilience of Ukrainian forces and the strategic setbacks faced by Russia, The Gaze reports.
He underlined that despite massive Russian efforts, Moscow failed to achieve any strategic breakthroughs.
“Despite enormous efforts and resources, Russia was unable to break through the front and did not achieve strategic success in any of the directions,” the Minister said.
Sybiha criticized what he described as a recurring mistake among foreign analysts: the tendency to overestimate Russian capabilities and underestimate Ukraine.
“The overall assumption that Russia is winning the war is incorrect. It is based on a common pattern among foreign analysts of underestimating Ukraine and overestimating Russia. This pattern has been proven wrong many times before, but people keep falling into the same trap,” he stressed.
According to Sybiha, Russia’s major offensives have lost momentum, and Ukraine has successfully stabilized the front, even regaining ground near Pokrovsk and other areas. He highlighted that Russia’s advances are minimal, extremely costly, and result in staggering casualties.
The minister also revealed that due to the immense losses, Moscow turned to North Korea for reinforcements.
“The scale of Russian casualties was so high that the Kremlin was forced to ask for support from the North Korean regime. More than 12,000 NK soldiers were involved in the fighting in the Kursk region. They were used as disposable and inexpensive human resources,” he said.
Despite Russian ambitions, Sybiha noted, progress has been painfully slow.
“Russia planned to retake the Kursk region in a few months but was unable to do so for nearly nine months. With the current rate of advance in the Donetsk region, Moscow would need many years to take all of it under control,” he explained.
He added, “Over three years later, Russia has lost over 950,000 soldiers killed or wounded in action, but it has not captured a single additional regional center in Ukraine since the 2022 invasion. Kherson was the only one, but Ukraine liberated it in 2022, along with more than half of the occupied territories.”
The Foreign Minister also pointed out Ukraine’s major achievements in developing its own defense industry.
“Ukraine has expanded its defense industry sixfold and now meets approximately 40% of its military needs on its own. Ukraine produces 95% of the drones that are responsible for approximately 77,000 destroyed Russian targets on the frontlines in March 2025 alone,” he detailed.
In conclusion, Sybiha reiterated Ukraine’s enduring desire for peace.
“Ukraine wants peace more than anyone else in the world. We never wanted this war, and we want it to end as soon as possible. We are working hard together with the United States, European and other partners to achieve peace,” Sybiha concluded.
Read more on The Gaze: Ukraine Skeptical of Putin’s May Ceasefire, Calls for Immediate Truce