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| New counter-offensive? What is the Ukrainian Armed Forces preparing for 2024? |
| 2023-12-19 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Korrespondent] Is Ukraine preparing a new counter-offensive? The German publication Welt writes that Ukraine is likely gathering resources for a new counteroffensive next year. After the failure of a counteroffensive in 2023, is Ukraine preparing a new one for 2024? The German publication Welt claims that the counter-offensive that Ukraine is planning for 2024 will be exactly what the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny apparently planned for this summer. Welt is confident that even though the Ukrainian counteroffensive has apparently reached a stalemate and the West is wavering in its support, there are signs that Kyiv is preparing a plan. After the failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, pessimism spread in society. Bad news about ammunition shortages in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a shortage of soldiers, bottlenecks in the supply of weapons systems from the West and declining morale among Ukrainians are fueling the bad mood. "Many people forget that most tanks and armored personnel carriers are still there, and that a lot of promised weapons are still being delivered," counters German security expert and political consultant Nico Lange. This applies, for example, to 200 German Leopard 1 tanks, of which only about 30 arrived in Ukraine. Also, Ukraine still has access to more than 95% of all weapons systems supplied by the West, as they have not yet been used in a counter-offensive. This is the result of estimates from the Dutch open website Oryx, which analyzes data on the supply and destruction of military equipment. Welt notes that in the South, Ukrainian naval units are holding and expanding a bridgehead near Kherson on the Russian-occupied bank of the Dnieper. From here it is only 60 kilometers to the Crimean Peninsula, occupied by Russia. This is a weak point for the Russian military since Ukraine forced the Black Sea Fleet to withdraw its troops and destroyed important air defense systems and other Russian military installations. According to media reports, Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny was never a supporter of an offensive without air support, and agreed to this only “for political reasons,” but subsequently the “big counteroffensive,” which was supposed to lead to Melitopol and Berdyansk, was eventually cancelled. Journalists add that Zaluzhny, by deciding to attack with small units, saved the lives of his soldiers, secured weapons systems from the west and gained important time. “Ukraine is likely gathering resources for a new counteroffensive next year. One of the starting points could be a bridgehead in Kherson. With the necessary fighter jets, combat helicopters and drones, Ukraine could provide sufficient support for the advance of its troops, especially since there are almost no Russian fortifications in the region. This would be exactly the counteroffensive that Zaluzhny probably had in mind from the very beginning,” writes Welt. WHAT ZALUZHNY HIMSELF SAYS The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, refused to comment on the command’s military plans for 2024, speaking with reporters on the sidelines of a presentation by the State Logistics Operator. According to the general, the situation at the front is not a stalemate. “This is war. I can't say what I plan, what we should do. Otherwise, it will be a show, not a war, the price of which is human lives. This cannot be discussed under any circumstances,” Zaluzhny said. |
| Posted by:badanov |