Western countries are concerned about the news that the Armed Forces of Ukraine is not ready for a counterattack after a multi-billion injection into the Ukrainian army. This is specified article Columnists Emma Graham-Harrison and Artem Mazhulin for The Guardian newspaper.
“We are not ready, we need more training, we need more time,” a Ukrainian warrior named Dark told the broadcast.
Journalists, citing US intelligence information, argue that the Armed Forces of Ukraine may not be able to cope with the preparation of a sufficient number of soldiers and equipment to realize their intentions. Graham-Harrison and Artem Mazhulin suggest that this could be a “critical test for Ukraine”.
The Times writes that Ukraine is not ready for an attack, but cannot refuse it. The publication quotes the words of a British officer who said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces “is ready for this and wants to achieve serious success in the field.”
But reporters are reminded that the intelligence documents leaked a month ago point to the opposite: “Ukraine is unlikely to achieve more than “modest territorial gains”.
It was noted that in this case, Kiev had no choice, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had to show that the investments of the West were not in vain. According to the publication, this is necessary to maintain the support of the allies.
“Currently, for example, Ukrainians spend more 155-millimeter rounds in a month than America produces in a year. The West is investing in new production facilities, but that takes months or even years,” he says.
The author of the article suggests that “Kiev will have to attack in any case, possibly targeting an ambitious target”. As an example, “Melitopol, a road and railway junction, whose liberation will cut the so-called land bridge between Crimea and Russia.”
According to The Times, “Of course, it is possible for Kiev to attack another place, such as the city of Donetsk, but that, while powerful symbolically, will be a tough fight with much less practical value.”
At the same time, the article says, “Ukrainians are overtly optimistic.” On April 28, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were ready for a counterattack “globally, at a high percentage of the regime”.
“Then the question remains for the General Staff, the command. “As soon as possible, by Allah’s leave, the weather conditions and the commanders’ decision,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also expresses confidence that he is ready for a counterattack. On April 29, he “confirmed that Ukraine was planning a counterattack and stated that he believed it could push back Russian forces and also recapture the Crimean peninsula.” This is stated in the publication of the Finnish edition of Yle, where the politician was interviewed.
He also expressed the view that the successful outcome of the wars would largely depend on supplies from the West. Zelensky did not rule out that the conflict could last for decades.
On April 28, a documentary by journalist Dmitry Komarov appeared on the Internet. In it, Zelensky compared the conflict with Russia to a pie.
“The conflict is like cake with the Russian Federation. We can’t eat it, you’ll tear your mouth apart, it’s a big state and huge in volume,” he said.
According to Zelensky, “trouble is hard to swallow, it has to be cut into pieces”: “And these are victories. One by one. Sometimes parallel, but most of them still sequential.”
On the anniversary of the special operations in Ukraine, Zelensky announced the readiness of the troops to counterattack: “We are mentally ready. We are technically preparing – with weapons, reinforcements, the creation of assault brigades of different categories and nature, we send people for training not only in Ukraine, but on the sites of other states. So, on February 24, he commented on the question of his chances of capturing the Crimean peninsula this year.
The counterattack of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is also not ignored in the USA. On April 7, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken suggested that Ukraine could begin implementing its plans in the coming weeks.
About a week later, he had telephone conversations with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. During them, Blinken also discussed “ongoing preparations for Ukraine’s spring offensive, including allies and partners’ commitments to military assistance.”
“Secretary Blinken stressed that Ukraine’s success is vital to European peace and security and reaffirmed the United States’ readiness to support Ukraine as needed,” Vedanta Patel, Deputy Press Secretary of the US Department of State, said in a statement.
Russia is following the messages of Ukrainian politicians and officials. Press Secretary of Russian President Dmitry Peskov declaration previously the military “carefully monitors all relevant information and takes it into account when planning the continuation of a special military operation.”