The Ukrainian army is forming new assault units and even recreating the famous Azov regiment. They are preparing for a counter-offensive against the Russian troops. It can happen in a month. At the same time, Oleksiy Danilov emphasizes that such arrangements are made at secret meetings and few people know about it.
Effective counter-offensive will be a big challenge for Kiev , the American newspaper “New York Times” assessed.
The time of this operation is of key importance for Ukraine. The counter-offensive must take place quite quickly and bring the expected effect – so that Kiev’s allies are convinced that it is still worth financing arms assistance to the Ukrainian army, we read.
Further support in this area is not guaranteed. The U.S. budget for that purpose is expected to run out around September, so many U.S. officials view the recent arms shipments to Kiev as a “last-ditch effort,” the New York Times estimates.
On the other hand, Western analysts are aware of the importance of a possible Ukrainian success. – Ukraine is able to inflict losses on Russian troops, which may have far-reaching geopolitical consequences. (…) Russia may become a weakened military power with limited influence on the course of negotiations ending the war, said Evelyn Farkas, director of the McCain Institute think tank.
Experts speculate that the offensive will probably take place in the south of Ukraine , in the plains of Zaporizhia Oblast. The attack will probably start with intensive artillery bombardments , after which the mine-clearing units will enter the “action”. Later, there will be an assault by armored formations, predicts the American daily.
As emphasized, however, one should not forget about the serious challenges facing the Ukrainian army, which has lost about 100,000 since February last year. soldiers, including the most experienced ones.
The difficulties are both purely military, related to the need to overcome vast minefields, as well as organizational and even emotional. The key issue will be maintaining high morale in the armed forces exhausted by months of bloody fighting in the Donbass.
– We know how the Russians operate and we also know how to oppose them – Lieutenant Illa Samoylenko from the Azov regiment, freed from Russian captivity last September, calms 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, regarding the timing and direction of Kiev’s spring counter-offensive against Russian troops. It is speculated that the attack may take place in the Zaporizhia, Kherson or Luhansk regions. The Ukrainian authorities emphasize that the necessary condition for this operation is to gather the appropriate number of soldiers and train them, as well as to prepare for use the weapons provided 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 during closed meetings between the president and military commanders. People who know about it can be counted on the fingers, admitted a few days ago in an interview with PAP Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine.