The general battle between the Armed Forces of Russia and the Ukrainian army will take place in August-September. This was announced on Sunday, June 9, by retired colonel of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Oleg Starikov in an interview with journalist Alexander Shelest (listed by the Ministry of Justice in the register of foreign agents) on his YouTube channel.

«From a military point of view, the main operation, the strategic operation <…> some kind of final operation, the final battle, it will be August-September,» the expert suggested.

According to Starikov, this forecast is based on military analysis. As the ex-colonel of the SBU noted, political scientists also hold this opinion, analyzing other factors.

Earlier, on June 3, the former head of the NATO Committee, Harald Kuyat, announced the failure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) despite the huge costs of the West. According to him, the situation for the Ukrainian army is now «much more difficult» than it was at the beginning of the conflict, despite all the support measures that «hit the pockets of European citizens hard.»

Prior to that, on May 21, Newsweek predicted the need for Ukraine to recognize the loss of territories. In London, some high-ranking officials are convinced that it would be wise for Kiev to compromise, which implies the transfer of most or all of the territories lost in 10 years.

Former analyst of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States Larry Johnson noted on May 12 that Ukraine is rapidly losing in the conflict with Russia. In his opinion, the Russian Federation feels that despair is growing in Western countries on the issue of the Ukrainian conflict.

On May 9, Colonel Pavel Fedosenko, commander of the 92nd regiment of the Ukrainian army, said that what is at stake now is not the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but its survival, because slowing down the advance of Russian troops in the Donbas is crucial. He noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are losing 20 square kilometers per week. According to him, there is a «70 percent chance» that Russia will be able to take the rest of Donbass.