MOSCOW, June 23. /TASS/. The Russian Armed Forces anticipate the movements of the Ukrainian military and are building defenses that the Ukrainian troops find difficult to overcome, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces Alexander Syrsky told the British newspaper The Guardian in an interview.

"The Russians are trying to seize the initiative. So, the situation is really difficult," Syrsky said. "We must not underestimate the enemy. The enemy has anticipated and continues to anticipate the most dangerous directions of our movements, and builds up strong defenses there which are quite difficult to penetrate."

Syrsky expressed hope that the Ukrainian army would eventually be able to advance.

"In a word, this is an ongoing process. Everyone draws their conclusions, and no one wants to get fooled the same way twice," he said.

On June 20, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar acknowledged that the Ukrainian army was facing difficulties in its ongoing counterattack, which was not proceeding as quickly as the Ukrainian authorities would like. However, she promised that the main strike of the Ukrainian army was yet to come. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that the Ukrainian armed forces faced a well-prepared Russian defense in the offensive.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 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 Ukrainian losses in manpower since the start of the counterattack had exceeded 13,000. Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Ukrainian troops had no success in any direction.