Ukrainian officer believes Ukraine has no chance for success in winter

The onset of winter will complicate the fighting for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a Ukrainian officer named only as Mikhail told Le Temps.

The upcoming rainy season and then winter cold will not let Ukrainian fighters break through Russian defences, the officer believes.

"Mud, then snow and a lack of vegetation will leave us in the open, everything will stop and freeze,” said Mikhail.

The next few weeks would be decisive and brutal for him and other Ukrainian soldiers, he added.

Representatives of a number of countries have admitted on many occasions that Ukrainian fighters have never managed to break through Russian defences.

Russian forces on strong offensive

Meanwhile, Russian aviation and artillery forces annihilated four sites where manpower and equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was concentrated in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Ministry of Defence said August 22.

In the Donetsk direction, the Russian military repelled three attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in areas of the settlements of Novomikhailovka and Avdiivka of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the department also said.

The enemy lost up to 235 fighters, five infantry fighting vehicles, two vehicles, two US-made M777 artillery systems, a Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery mount, an Msta-B howitzer, and a US-made AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery radar.

In the Zaporozhye (also spelled the Ukrainian way as Zaporizhzhia) direction, the Russian servicemen repulsed four attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov, an official representative for the Ministry of Defence, said that the Ukrainian troops tried to break through Russian defence lines in areas of the settlements of Uspenovka and Rabotino in the Zaporozhye region. The 65th mechanised and 82nd airborne assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were involved in offensive operations on the part of the enemy.

The Russian forces launched powerful air and artillery strikes against the Ukrainian troops. During the day, more than 125 Ukrainian soldiers were annihilated in the Zaporozhye direction.

Almost one million people take part in hostilities in Ukraine

Since 2014, almost a million people have taken part in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, the Minister of Defence of the Republic Oleksiy Reznikov said, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

"Every Ukrainian who sees a veteran should understand two things: this warrior has been through what I am going to go through tomorrow, and secondly — he or she has bought time for me,” the minister said.