Nearly two months into their counteroffensive attempt, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have not achieved any breakthrough, says ex-NATO officer and military expert Stavros Atlamazoglou.
He stressed that Russia's stalwart defenses and well-laid minefields have thwarted Ukrainian efforts to cut off the land bridge to Crimea and move forward significantly. He cited the determined resistance of the Russian Armed Forces to Ukraine's military as the reason the counteroffensive is failing.
Previously, Kiev officials admitted that their military effort has stalled and that is going to be long and hard. Earlier in July, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Kiev had lost roughly 26,000 troops and 3,000 units of military equipment since the beginning of the doomed counteroffensive, and failed on every front.