"We will not stop": Danilov admits that Ukraine's counteroffensive did not meet expectations

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov said that hopes for a Ukrainian counteroffensive had not been realized. However, this does not mean that victory will not be on our side.  He said this in a commentary to BBC News, according to UNN. 

Details 

In May, before the counteroffensive was launched, Oleksiy Danilov  told the BBC that the coming months offered a "historic opportunity." Now, reflecting on those words, he said: 

"In May, every citizen of our country wanted the war to end as soon as possible. There were hopes, but they were not realized."

According to him, "the fact that we have been defending our country for two years is already a great victory". 

Danilov acknowledged that the Ukrainian army's plans to retake territory seized by Russia during the February 2022 invasion and to cut off Russian supply lines to Crimea were too optimistic.

"People sometimes make mistakes. You can't be an excellent student all your life," he said.

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The NSDC Secretary described the current situation at the front as "very difficult" and said that old "textbooks" on the war - in particular, NATO ones - "should be sent back to the archive."

"There has been no war like the one in our country in the 20th or 21st century," Danilov said.

The NSDC Secretary refused to specify when there might be a new push to regain the territory.

"I can say for sure that we will not stop," he said. 

Addendum

Ukrainian forces may have launched counterattacksto prevent Russian forces from fully controlling the village of Stepove near Avdiivka, Donetsk region. According to British intelligence, Avdiivka remains a key hotspot with intense fighting.