MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. The hopes that Kiev had placed in its counteroffensive did not come true, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Alexey Danilov said in an interview with the BBC.

"There were hopes, but they didn't come true," he pointed out.

According to Danilov, the situation on the frontline is very difficult and NATO’s old "textbooks" "should be sent back to the archives."

Danilov also acknowledged that Kiev had been over-optimistic. "People sometimes make mistakes. You cannot be an A-grader all your life," he said.

However, the top Ukrainian security official was confident that US defense aid would be approved and the current delay was not "a tragedy."

The Ukrainian army has been conducting unsuccessful offensive attempts since June 4. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on November 21 that Kiev had lost more than 13,700 troops and about 1,600 pieces of equipment since the beginning of the month. Russia has repeatedly emphasized that the offensive has failed, as Ukraine achieved no significant results. In a bid to justify the lack of success on the battlefield, the Ukrainian authorities keep blaming NATO for insufficient supplies, while the bloc’s officials have stated that Kiev received everything it needed. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky admitted on December 1 that Kiev’s counteroffensive had not achieved its aims.