ABC News also contacted two other Ukrainian soldiers interviewed in earlier phases of the war and they said they have also been injured in the past few weeks.
A Western man, with years of military experience, who is also now contracted with the Ukrainian military, said he sustained a serious injury in the early phase of the counteroffensive in June.
Speaking to ABC News on the condition of anonymity, the soldier said offensive operations which he had been part of were disorganized, criticizing some tactical decisions.
“We lost three Leopards (advanced German-made tanks) in one day because they were just told to drive forward into a minefield,” he said.
He added that newly mobilized Ukrainian soldiers often appeared to lack the necessary training for complicated offensive operations on the battlefield.
The soldier, who joined the Ukrainian military more than a year ago, said dozens of men from his battalion had been involved in offensive operations since the beginning of June and around 80% of those men had been injured. However, he added that there had been no fatalities.
He claimed western military equipment such as U.S.-supplied Bradley infantry fighting vehicles were not being used to their full potential because some Ukrainian soldiers didn’t have the necessary training or experience.
NATO armies would not consider tackling the minefields and defenses along the southern Zaporizhzhia front without high-end armor, anti-demining equipment, air superiority and a well-trained force.
The calculation may have been made that the risk for NATO being dragged into the war is too high to justify moving faster with F-16s. That it is easier to instead gamble on whether Ukraine can succeed in its counteroffensive, with one hand tied behind it back.
Vahvistamattomien tietojen mukaan kaksi pommikonetta on tulessa.