Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says they have been monitoring the situation in Belarus, where the Wagner military group has been training the Belarusian troops. President Zelenskyy alerted his country that Russia had been putting all its power and resources into the war to counter Kyiv’s counteroffensive in southern and eastern Ukraine. His comments came on Friday as Ukrainian officials acknowledged that the much-awaited counteroffensive has been making progress at a much slower pace than some of the officials foresighted. New reports from the battlefield are being released.

In his daily evening address to the nation, Zelenskyy said it should be clear to everyone that Russian forces have been putting all their resources into the fight in southern and eastern regions to stop Ukrainian battalions. Additionally, combat bridges deserve gratitude for every thousand meters of success they achieve. President expressed they have been continuously focusing on the situations in the neighboring nation, Belarus, and he has received some reports recently. He added they had not noticed some significant threats there, and the frontlines of the battlefield were under attention. Moreover, Belarusian Government has emerged as one of the closest allies of Russia in war.

Ukrainian President’s reports came after news emerged that Wagner mercenary group had reached an agreement to give training to Belarusian troops. On Friday, Minsk’s defense minister stated that they had made a deal with Wagner’s military group to create a roadmap for the near future for training and transferring their battlefield experience to different branches of armed forces. Minister also posted a video showing Wagner forces instructing Belarusian troops in the training ground 90 Km from the capital, Minsk City. He didn’t specify how the Wagner group would train the troops as there was a recent incident of Wagner’s mutiny against Russian forces last month.

Ukraine Making Progress at A Slower Pace

Head of President Zelenskyy’s office Andiry Yermak was the latest official who declared on Friday that the fighting on the battlefield had been brutal. Additionally, the advance is not so quick. Moreover, Yermak, who is considered an important man for President Zelenskyy, added that Western allies had aided Kyiv much in the war against Kremlin aggression and were not putting pressure on Ukrainian forces to make fast advancements. He said there had been no pressure but a question: “How can we help”?

General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi Ukrainian Commander in the south, made a statement after meeting President Zelenskyy on Friday that their troops have been systematically moving the opponent forces out of their positions. He wrote on Telegram that within the last 24 hours, the enemy had lost around 200 troops.

In a daily report on Friday, the Russian Defense Minister said their forces had repelled 16 Ukrainian attacks on the eastern front, including near the long-contested town of Maryinka and the eastern side of Bakhmut city. Additionally, Military analyst Serhiy Hrabskyi told Ukrainian NV radio that there had been a tough situation in advancing towards Berdyansk in the south. He added the opponent forces have been resisting a lot and trying to advance in the south.

A long-awaited counteroffensive has reportedly focused on capturing the villages in the southeast part of Ukraine in a drive toward the Sea of Azov and in lands near Bakhmut city. Bakhmut City has faced a long and fierce fight for months and has been the deadliest region of the war. This area of the ferocious battle has cost hundreds of soldiers on both sides, and, ultimately, Kremlin forces captured the city in May through Wagner forces.