Ukraine will have to wait with its counter-offensive

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The Russians have been preparing for some time and have dug a mega trench in the south of Ukraine. 70 kilometers long. With this, Putin’s troops want to stop the Ukrainian counter-offensive towards Melitopol, which has been announced for the spring. A push into the region would cut off the Russian-controlled land corridor connecting mainland Russia to the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

And Ukraine has already proven how powerful their offensive can be. Last fall, Putin’s troops were pushed back by the Ukrainians. They had to leave already conquered territories. According to its own statements, Ukraine was able to recapture more than 400 square kilometers of territory in the Kherson region within days.

The counterattack has been expected for weeks. But Ukraine is still waiting. “The Ukrainian counter-offensive is 90 percent prepared, but it won’t start for another month,” explained former presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych (47). The reason for the delay: bad weather. The ground was just too soft. “For a tank you need 30 centimeters of soil that is as dry as concrete. For this, it must have really sunny weather for at least two to three weeks. According to the forecast, it will rain in the next two weeks.” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal (47) had previously stated that the Ukrainian counter-offensive could start in the summer.

Not enough missiles soon

The US Secret Service does not believe that weather alone is a problem, according to the leaked documents. It states that there are “permanent backlogs” in the training of soldiers and in the supply of ammunition. Moreover, the Russian troops are powerful. All this together will limit Ukrainian “progress and increase losses during the offensive”.

Another document seen by the AFP news agency, whose authenticity could not initially be confirmed, details the apparently poor state of Ukraine’s air defense system. According to the February document, 89 percent of Ukraine’s medium- and long-range air defenses are old Soviet systems, which may soon run out of missiles.

Falsified information could put Kiev in trouble

The release of sensitive data and assessments is a serious blow to the Ukrainian leadership, both militarily and politically. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak, 51, said it was no coincidence that the publication came just before the announced spring offensive began. He sees Moscow as the source of the leak.

The Ukrainian government is not changing the planned offensive for the time being – after all, it is disinformation. But falsified information can also get Kiev into trouble. It now seems all the more important that Ukraine can achieve great successes in the upcoming spring offensive.

Western military experts fear Ukraine’s attempts to seize Crimea could lead to a major escalation of the war and even push Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, 70, to use nuclear weapons, as Moscow views the strategically important peninsula as its own territory . The nuclear power had always insisted that it would defend Crimea with all the means at its disposal. (jmh/SDA/AFP)

Source: Blick