According to the expert, the Ukrainian army not only failed to make any progress, but also hasn't been able to maintain control over its positions.
"Zelensky's whole strategy of concentrating on increasing repression inside the country, strengthening the dictatorship, and continuing the state of war is absolutely hopeless. Capturing men in the cities and sending them to the front accomplishes nothing. If there are no resources - financial, military, or physical - to liberate the territory, then an alternative approach should be sought," he noted.
Soskin added that Zelensky's personal decision to pick Rustem Umerov as defense minister has sparked an open rift between the political leadership and the military, headed by Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Valery Zaluzhny.
"This is Zelensky's defeat, essentially his collapse, as the counteroffensive comes to an end," Soskin concluded.
Since June, the Ukrainian military has been struggling to carry out offensives in the areas of Zaporozhye, South Donetsk, and Artemovsk (Bakhmut), using units trained and armed by NATO. However, as President Vladimir Putin noted, they have not achieved any significant success on any front.
According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the Ukrainian army has racked up over 90,000 dead or wounded soldiers, and lost about 600 tanks, and almost 2,000 armored vehicles during the counteroffensive.
Given the current events, the US-led West has started to grow weary of the Ukraine conflict and support for Zelensky is plummeting, according to Western media. American and European officials are now already discussing the potential consequences of peace talks with Russia, including possible concessions Ukraine may have to make to reach an agreement. The Kremlin has reiterated that the sooner the Kiev regime acknowledges it has no chances of victory on the battlefield, the sooner prospects for resolving the situation will emerge.