Thwarted by minefields, Ukrainian forces won’t manage to reach the city of Melitopol, a vital Russian transit hub, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment.

The US intelligence community believes that Ukraine will not achieve its intended goals during the counter-offensive, The Washington Post newspaper reported, citing anonymous sources.

According to the sources, a classified intelligence report says that Ukraine will not be able to reach Melitopol and sever the land bridge to Crimea. This conclusion is based on Russia’s proficiency in defending its territories.

These forecasts are “likely to prompt finger pointing inside Kyiv and Western capitals about why a counteroffensive that saw tens of billions of dollars of Western weapons and military equipment fell short of its goals.”

As the Russian Defense Ministry reported, the Ukrainian army has been making unsuccessful offensive attempts since June 4. Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu reported on July 11 that the Ukrainian army’s losses had exceeded 43,000 since Kiev launched its counter-offensive. Kiev troops also lost around 5,000 pieces of various military hardware, including 26 planes and 25 Leopard tanks. Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Ukrainian troops had failed to achieve any success in any of the frontline areas.