MELITOPOL, June 22. /TASS/. The Ukrainian army in the Zaporozhye Region remains either near the Russian forces’ forward defense lines or in the gray zone, unable to advance any further since the beginning of the counter-offensive, Vladimir Rogov, the leader of the We Are Together with Russia movement, has told the TASS.
"As of now, the overwhelming part of the Ukrainian forces is near the first defense line or in the gray zone, failing to seize even our forward defense positions. This is a reason for cautious optimism, but one must understand that the battle is still ahead, as the enemy has not yet engaged the main reserves," he said.
Rogov believes that the main battle with the Ukrainian army will take place this summer.
The Russian Defense Ministry has said that the Ukrainian army has been making unsuccessful offensive attempts since June 4. On June 22, the Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Nikolay Patrushev said that Ukraine’s losses in manpower since the start of the counteroffensive had exceeded 13,000. Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that the Ukrainian army had achieved no success in any direction.