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Kiev’s counteroffensive belies hype so far, fails to win solid results, says French expert

Edouard Husson believes that the counteroffensive was deliberately promoted in the West ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius

PARIS, July 11. /TASS/. Ukraine has failed to achieve any significant wins in nearly six weeks of its much-hyped counteroffensive, Edouard Husson, professor at Cergy-Pontoise University and editorial director of French monthly Le Courrier des Strateges, told TASS.

"Ukrainian forces launched an offensive operation nearly six weeks ago, but it has clearly failed to bring any tangible results because of the following reasons: First, the Russian army’s line of defense is strong enough despite the length of the front. Second, Ukraine, for fairly obvious reasons, lacks sufficient air cover to protect its advancing troops. Additionally, its ammunition stocks lag far behind those of the Russian army," he pointed out.

Husson believes that the counteroffensive was deliberately promoted in the West ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius. "Ukraine’s counteroffensive will probably last for several more weeks. Once it is over, the situation will depend on whether Russia is invited to the negotiating table, or the conflict will continue for a while longer," the expert concluded.

The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier that the Ukrainian armed forces had been making unsuccessful attempts at a counteroffensive since June 4. Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized that the Ukrainian military had failed to achieve any success in any area.