PRAGUE, August 15. /TASS/. Jiri Sedivy, former Czech army general staff chief, defense minister and representative to NATO, has blamed the failure of Ukraine’s counteroffensive on overly optimistic expectations and attempts to conduct combat operations on three separate lines of engagement simultaneously.

"The state of Ukraine’s counteroffensive in mid-August is unsatisfactory," he said in an interview with the czdefence.cz portal. "Illogically optimistic expectations have distorted the picture of the state of Ukrainian troops ahead of this offensive."

According to Sedivy, the Ukrainian command "advertised its counteroffensive" well ahead of its launch, inspiring hopes that Kiev would "batter Russian troops." "The reality has proved to be a far cry from what was proclaimed," he said.

In his words, the biggest mistake was to launch the offensive simultaneously in three areas. "It has not crushed the Russians, but it has crushed us," he stressed.

The Ukrainian army has been making futile attempts to stage an offensive since the beginning of June. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine’s losses over this period have amounted to more than 43,000 troops and around 5,000 pieces of weaponry, including 26 airplanes and 25 Leopard tanks. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian forces have not scored any success in any area.