BERLIN, July 30. /TASS/. European diplomats and the military no longer believe in frontline success of the Ukrainian army and expect a ceasefire agreement to be signed within six to nine months, Die Welt reported, citing its sources in Brussels.
"Practically no one in Brussels expects Ukraine to regain its lost territories. No one wants to speak about this, at least, officially," it said, citing its sources as saying that the developments in the zone of combat operations are "much worse" for Kiev than it is believed in the West. Russia’s breaking through the second line of Ukraine’s defenses is "just a matter of time," they said.
The Die Welt sources think that Kiev will fail to reach its declared goal of returning to the 2014 birders. European diplomats and the military anticipate that a ceasefire in the conflict zone will be declared within six to nine months, regardless of the outcome of the presidential election in the United States.
"In the current environment I see no other way out than a soonest ceasefire. Such a situation may last for years, with local ceasefire violation happening again and again," one of the sources said.