Ukrainian resistance, Western weapons support… Russia’s Operation Deadlock
Reinforcement of sanctions and burden of criticism from the international community… Continuing the war and seeking a way out
Kharkov (AP Photo) A Russian armored personnel carrier is engulfed in flames on the streets of the second city of Kharkov, where street fighting took place on the 27th (local time), four days following Ukraine was invaded by Russia. 2022.2.28 leekm@yna.co.kr
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Song Byung-seung = There is no war situation that major cities including the capital Kyiv have been captured until the 28th (local time), the fifth day following Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine.
Western media, including CNN, reported that Russia, which was trying to end the war quickly and swiftly, is having a hard time on the front line due to the stronger-than-expected resistance from Ukraine.
Officials from the United States and NATO explained that the Russian military failed to seize air supremacy and that supplies were also being disrupted.
Ukraine’s major cities are well defending once morest Russian attacks, and even the eastern metropolis of Kharkov, close to the Russian border, has not yet fallen into Russian hands, although street fighting is currently taking place.
In a situation where the fronts were stale at the beginning of the war, the West, such as the United States, NATO, and the European Union (EU), did not directly dispatch troops, but actively provided military and financial support to Ukraine.
The United States, which had provided arms to Ukraine even before the Russian invasion, announced on the 26th that it would provide an additional $350 million worth of weapons.
Kharkov (EPA = Yonhap News) Members of the Ukrainian Homeland Defense Force wait for a battle order in the city of Kharkov, the second city, on the 27th (local time). On the fourth day of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces launched an all-round attack on Kharkov. Ukraine claimed to have repelled the Russian attack. 2022.2.28 leekm@yna.co.kr
Britain, which has already provided 2,000 anti-tank missiles, has decided to send more weapons to Ukraine.
The Netherlands also said it plans to supply 200 Stinger air defense rockets as soon as possible. Earlier this month, the Netherlands also agreed to support rifles, ammunition, radar systems, and mine detection robots.
The Czech Republic plans to send regarding 7.5 million euros worth of weapons to Ukraine.
Germany, which has been following the principle of not exporting lethal weapons, overturned this and announced that it would supply 1,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine and 500 Stinger, a portable infrared-guided surface-to-air missile for shooting down military aircraft.
The EU plans to spend 450 million euros (regarding 66 billion won) of EU finances on arms purchases for Ukraine and an additional 50 million euros (regarding 67.3 billion won) in medical supplies.
(Donetsk Archyde.com = Yonhap News) A tank is entering Donetsk in eastern Donetsk controlled by pro-Russian rebels on the 22nd (local time) while wars are escalating over Ukraine.. 2022.2.22 sungok@yna.co. en
The growing intensity of sanctions once morest Russia is also a huge burden on Russia.
Western countries, including the United States, announced financial and export restrictions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine intensified. It also decided to impose sanctions on key individuals, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
In addition, the US and EU imposed strong sanctions on some Russian banks from the SWIFT payment network. It also hinted at the possibility of adding energy sanctions once morest Russia, which have not been used so far.
Such omni-directional sanctions once morest Russia are expected to have a harsher effect over time.
The international community’s harsh criticism is also making it difficult to obtain a justification for continuing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Even within Russia, anti-war protests are taking place and the momentum of the war is getting worse.
As Russia’s aggression strategy is disrupted, there are also prospects that Russia may face a similar predicament in Ukraine, just as the Soviet Union fell into a ‘maze of war’ with the invasion of Afghanistan in the past.
In December 1979, during the Cold War, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan under the pretext of suppressing the Mujahideen, an Islamic fundamentalist militant who resisted the pro-Soviet regime.
At the time, the Soviet Union, faced with fierce resistance from the Afghan people, led by the emerging Taliban, eventually withdrew in 1989, spending a huge amount of money on the war for 10 years and losing 50,000 troops.
Some analyzes that the failure of this war served as the trigger for the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
In an interview with The Atlantic, a professor at the University of Chicago, Professor Paul Post pointed out that Russia is plunged into a dilemma as one of the possible scenarios following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Professor Post said, “As the Soviet Union experienced in Afghanistan, Ukraine resisted strongly and the front was stalemate. Anti-war opinion will rise and the pain of sanctions will intensify. All this will make it difficult to achieve Russia’s goals.” analyzed.
For this reason, he added, many analysts have predicted such a scenario.
(Ukraine AFP = AFP) Smoke rises from a destroyed Russian tank in Lugansk, eastern Ukraine, on the 26th (local time). 2022.2.27[우크라이나AFP=연합뉴스)26일(현지시간)우크라이나동부루간스크에서파괴된러시아탱크에서연기가피어오르고있다2022227
Russia is likely to seek several alternatives depending on the war situation. Russia and Ukraine agreed to meet and negotiate in Gomel, southeastern Belarus, on the 28th.
The agenda for this negotiation is still unknown. The Ukrainian side does not appear to have high expectations for the negotiations.
“I’m going to hear what Russia wants to say,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleva said.
In this negotiation, interest is drawn in that it can give a glimpse into whether Russia will continue the war at the risk of falling into a quagmire, or whether it will find a way to end the war.
songbs@yna.co.kr
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