The Ukrainian army is forming new assault units and even recreating the famous Azov regiment, in preparation for the upcoming counter-offensive against the Russian troops; such an attack is likely to take place within the next month, but it will be a major challenge for Kiev to carry it out effectively, the US newspaper The New York Times judged.
Counteroffensive
The timing of this operation is of crucial importance for Ukraine. The counter-offensive must take place fairly quickly and have the expected effect – so that Kiev’s allies are convinced that it is still worth funding armament aid for the Ukrainian army. Further support in this area is not guaranteed. As the U.S. budget for this goal is expected to run out by September, many U.S. officials view the recent arms shipments to Kiev as a “last ditch effort,” the New York Times reported.
On the other hand, Western analysts are aware of the importance of a possible Ukrainian success.
Ukraine is capable of inflicting losses on Russian troops that could have far-reaching geopolitical consequences. (…) Russia may become a weakened military power with limited influence over the course of the negotiations to end the war
Evelyn Farkas, director of the McCain Institute think tank.
Experts believe that the offensive is likely to take place in the south of Ukraine, in the plains of the Zaporizhia region. The attack is likely to begin with intensive artillery barrages, after which mine clearance units will begin the “action”. Later there will be an attack by armored formations, the American newspaper predicts.
Challenges for the Ukrainian army
However, as emphasized, we should not forget the serious challenges faced by the Ukrainian army, which has lost about 100,000 men since February last year. soldiers, including the most experienced. The difficulties are both purely military, related to the need to overcome huge minefields, and organizational and even emotional. The key question will be to maintain high morale in the armed forces, exhausted by months of bloody fighting in the Donbass.
We know how the Russians operate and we know how to counter them
– reassures Lieutenant Illa Samoylenko of the Azov regiment, freed from Russian captivity last September, in an interview with “NYT”.
In recent weeks, various assumptions have been made in the Ukrainian and Western media, as well as in analytical studies, about the timing and direction of Kiev’s spring counter-offensive against Russian forces. It is speculated that the attack could take place in the Zaporizhia, Kherson or Luhansk regions. The Ukrainian authorities emphasize that the necessary condition for this operation is to collect and train the right number of soldiers, as well as to prepare for use the weapons supplied by the Western allies, including Leopard 2 and Challenger tanks.
I read with admiration the Western press, which knows from which direction the attack will come and when it will come. Such decisions are made in private meetings between the president and military commanders. People who know this can be counted on their fingers
– Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, admitted in an interview with PAP a few days ago.
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wkt/PAP
Source: wPolityce