MOSCOW, June 23. /TASS/. The deputy chief of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), Vadim Skibitsky, believes that active hostilities will continue for another two to three months.

"Let's not make forecasts for the entire year. I’d put it this way: in the next two or three months there will be active hostilities, both offensive and defensive," he said in an interview with the RBC-Ukraine news agency. "Whatever the case, we will stay focused on mid-summer."

As the Russian Defense Ministry has said, Ukrainian forces have been making unsuccessful offensive attempts since June 4. Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Ukrainian troops had achieved no success in any direction.

On June 20, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar acknowledged that the country's armed forces were facing problems in their ongoing counteroffensive. On June 21, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky also stated that the counterattack was slower than Kiev would like it to be.