MOSCOW, June 23. /TASS/. The Ukrainian military hasn’t yet committed into battle its main forces, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces Alexander Syrsky said in an interview with the Guardian.

"Everyone wants to achieve a great victory instantly and at once," he told the British newspaper. "And so do we. But we have to be prepared to have this process take some time because there are a lot of forces massed on each side, a lot of materiel, and a lot of engineered obstacles.

"Our main force has not been engaged in fighting yet, and we are now searching, probing for weak places in the enemy defenses. Everything is still ahead," Syrsky went on to say.

He said the UK’s Challenger 2 tanks are within the reserves, but didn’t say how many there were as the information is classified.

Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said on June 20 that the Ukrainian military was facing difficulties during its counteroffensive, and it wasn’t progressing as quickly as the Ukrainian government would like. However, Malyar said that Ukraine was yet to deliver its main strike. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated on June 20 that Ukrainian forces had encountered well-prepared Russian defenses during their offensive.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian troops have been making unsuccessful attempts at an offensive since June 4. On June 22, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said that Ukrainian losses since the start of the counteroffensive had exceeded 13,000 troops. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces hadn’t achieved success in any area.