2023-06-13 03:07:40
The Associated Press reported that Ukrainian forces are feeling the pulse of Russian defenses with the approach of the second summer of fighting, explaining that Kiev is facing an enemy that has made mistakes and suffered setbacks in the 15-month-old war, but analysts say that Russia has also learned from its grave mistakes and developed its weapons. and her skills.
Russia has built heavily fortified defenses along the 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) front line, honed its electronic weapons to reduce Ukraine’s superiority in combat drones, and diverted heavy bombs from its massive Cold War-era arsenal, the agency said. To precision-guided gliding munitions capable of hitting targets without endangering their warplanes.
The agency believes that the constantly changing Russian tactics, in addition to increasing troop numbers and improving weapons, may make it difficult for Ukraine to achieve any kind of quick decisive victory, which threatens to turn it into a long battle of attrition.
The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday that while the Ukrainian military is well prepared, over time “these battles are going to go on for a long period of time without a resolution.”
Most of the attention last week focused on the catastrophic flooding in southern Ukraine caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, which both sides blame each other for.
But at the same time, Ukrainian forces launched a series of offensives in several parts of the front, achieving only marginal gains once morest Russia’s layered defences, according to the agency.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that counter-offensive and defensive operations are underway once morest Russian forces, stressing that his leaders believe in their success. The Ukrainian authorities did not announce the start of a comprehensive counterattack.
The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine had launched an all-out counterattack, but failed to make any progress and suffered “significant” losses, he claimed.
The retired general who led the UK’s Combined Forces Command, Sir Richard Barrons, said the Russian army had “duly established” defensive lines and adjusted tactics following its hasty withdrawal from large areas of Kharkiv and Kherson last fall under fire from a lightning Ukrainian campaign.
Barrons pointed to the improvement in the Russian ability to confront and use unmanned aircraft, and also indicated that Moscow had learned to keep important sites such as the headquarters and ammunition stores out of artillery range.
And the agency explained that at the beginning of the war, Russian military convoys advanced for miles to become easy prey for Ukrainian artillery and marches during a failed attempt to capture Kiev, in what was seen as a fatal mistake.
Then Ukrainian missiles sank the Russian cruiser Moskva, the flagship of its Black Sea fleet, in a major blow to Moscow’s pride. Kiev missiles also hit ammunition depots and Russian command headquarters, and Kremlin forces quickly withdrew from large areas to the east and south in the fall.
But the agency stated that despite these setbacks, Russia worked to defend large parts of the Ukrainian lands that it occupied early in the invasion. And last May, it declared control of the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine following the longest and bloodiest battle of the war.
The agency noted that there are still fundamental weaknesses in Russia.
Russian forces still suffer from low morale and ammunition shortages, and coordination between units remains poor.
A fierce competitive struggle broke out between the military officers and Wagner’s special forces, who sent tens of thousands of mercenaries to the battlefield at Bakhmut.
The report indicated that the main factor that still limits Russia’s ability is its decision to prevent its air forces from penetrating deep into Ukraine following it suffered heavy losses in the early stages of the war. And its attempts to destroy the Ukrainian air defenses failed.
Thanks to Western arms supplies, Ukraine now poses an even greater challenge to Russian aircraft.
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