"I am a little skeptical that Ukraine will be able to regain its lost territories. I would be surprised that Ukraine will be able to kick the Russians out of Donbass or to kick them out of Crimea," de Riviere said in an interview with Turkey's Anadolu news agency, adding that he is not expecting ceasefire any time soon.
On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that a new counteroffensive attempt from Ukrainian forces was unsuccessful, with Ukrainian troops losing 1,700 people in two days during their efforts to advance on the Nikolaev-Krivoi Rog and other directions.
Crimea rejoined Russia in 2014, after a referendum determined that over 96 percent of the peninsula's voters were in favor of reunification. In spite of the vote, Ukraine still considers Crimea to be part of its territory, calling it temporarily occupied.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that the residents of Crimea made the decision to reunify with Russia through a democratic process in line with international law and the UN Charter. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the issue of the peninsula's territorial affiliation is "historically closed."