The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, advises Western analysts who have doubts about the counteroffensive launched in June to be “careful with long-term forecasts and predictions,” BILD reports, citing Ukrainian Pravda.

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy reacted after the US special services estimated that Ukraine will not succeed in achieving the key goal of the offensive launched this summer: to capture or at least besiege the city of Melitopol in the south of the country, according to The Washington. Publish.

This would mean that Kyiv forces would also not be able to achieve their strategic goal of the offensive: to cut Russian forces in the south of the country and the land corridor to Crimea in half.

“We take such statements calmly. According to unknown officials, generals and analysts, Ukraine should have ceased to exist within three to ten days in February 2022,” Kuleba told Bild.

“Now they hint that Ukraine will not be able to restore its entire territory so quickly. This shows that even those who have doubts become more hopeful over time,” the Ukrainian official added.

Kuleba advised analysts not to underestimate Kyiv’s strength.

“My point is that analysts need to be more cautious in their long-term forecasts and projections. But what we need is more long-range capabilities to achieve greater results in the short term,” Kuleba said, referring to the long-range missiles Ukraine is demanding from its partners.

At the same time, Kuleba called on Kyiv’s allies to continue providing the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the assistance necessary for a successful military offensive, Politico notes.

Ukraine will not achieve its key goal of the offensive, according to US intelligence

Several sources in the US intelligence community told The Washington Post that Ukrainian forces trying to advance towards Melitopol are currently engulfed in fighting in the area of ​​the village of Robotyne, more than 75 kilometers from the city in southern Zaporozhye.

The American assessment predicts that Kiev’s advance will stop within a few kilometers of Melitopol, the city where the Russian army entered on the second day of the invasion launched by President Vladimir Putin on February 24 last year, advancing from Crimea and separatists. controlled territories in Donetsk region.

Melitopol is a key target of the Ukrainian offensive, as it is considered the “gateway to Crimea” and is located at the intersection of two major highways and a railway, which allows the Russian armed forces to transfer personnel and military equipment between different sections of the front in southern Ukraine.

US intelligence believes that Kyiv’s offensive will be exhausted without reaching the city.

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