The russian military cannot surround units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Joint Forces Operation zone, - Oleksiy Arestovych, Adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, announced during his latest briefing, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
"The russian military was not able to launch an attack to surround our units in the Joint Forces Operation zone. So far, they changed their strategy for much more intense shelling, which may indicate their complete unwillingness to combat on the ground. So we remain reasonable in our forecasts, bearing in mind fighting might restore", - he said.
Arestovych added that the russians significantly cut back their military activity near Kyiv. It is highly likely that these units will be transferred to the Joint Forces Operation zone.
"They were not able to capture and hold the areas near Kyiv. Ukrainian troops are pushing them out in the northwest and northeast directions. It is almost certain that the Russian offensive has failed in its objective to encircle Kyiv", - he said.
The Ukrainian troops are starting a counterattack in the Kharkiv region and continue tactical combat in the Kherson direction.
"We estimate positively the balance of power and dominance to be 55/45 between Ukrainian and Russian forces, respectively. But russians continue to shell critical and military infrastructure, and continue to destroy residential areas in Kharkiv, Mariupol and Chernihiv. We have connections on the ground to Chernihiv and so are able to provide military and humanitarian aid and rescue local residents", - he said.
Earlier, the General Staff confirmed the partial withdrawal of russian troops from Kyiv. At the same time, it is still highly likely russians are regrouping to double down on their attacks in the east of the country, in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.