Western allies are gradually moving to provide the Ukrainian army with offensive weapons, but Kyiv needs it now to withstand the battle for Donbas.
The war in Ukraine is entering a new phase. And NATO countries are gradually increasing their arms supplies to Kyiv. In the course of this process, Western countries are quietly crossing the line drawn by them at the beginning of the crisis regarding the exclusively defensive nature of the weapons they provide to the Ukrainian army.
But the question remains whether a gradual increase in arms supplies will not provoke Russian retaliation and change events on the battlefield for Donbas, The Guardian reports.
offensive weapons. It is also extremely important to ensure that the supply of critical military equipment continues and increases, “said Phil Osborne, the former head of British military intelligence.
The publication reminds that in the first six weeks of the war, the Ukrainian army destroyed Russian columns of armored vehicles with light anti-tank missiles. Due to bad Russian tactics and the determination of Ukrainian forces, the invaders eventually abandoned attacks on Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy.
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But Ukraine now has to deal with Russian troops in the east and south, where they have been more successful and better entrenched. In recent days, it has become known that the Czech Republic has sent a dozen Soviet T-72s, as well as artillery howitzers and BMP-1. This was a major shift in the supply of offensive weapons, which Western politicians had previously rejected. However, this will not help much. After all, according to Oryx, the Ukrainian army lost 94 tanks in battle. However, there are talks that Poland may hand over another 100 such combat vehicles to Ukraine. Since she signed an agreement on Wednesday to buy 250 Abrams tanks for $ 4.75 billion.
The next phase of the war, which may be decisive, will begin in the Donbass. Moscow seeks to capture Mariupol, connect Donetsk and Luhansk with Crimea on land, and surround the main Ukrainian forces resisting the Russian invasion. The Guardian writes that this battle will unfold in April. Western intelligence officials are convinced that Vladimir Putin wants to achieve “success that can be said” by May 9. That is why it is very important that the West is ready to hand over to Ukraine now.
A dozen or two Czech tanks and four Bushmaster armored vehicles from Australia will not change anything.
“If we had everything we needed, all these planes, tanks, artillery, anti-missile and anti-ship weapons, we would have saved thousands of lives,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said recently.
The United States has announced that it will send an additional batch of $ 100 million Javelin anti-tank missiles. And this is in addition to another package of equipment for 300 million, which includes laser-guided missile systems called APKWS. They are usually armed with airplanes or drones. However, these missiles can also be launched from the ground, which will help destroy Russian artillery. Ukraine will also receive Switchblade 600 drones, which can hit a target within a radius of 90 kilometers. They are armed with the same anti-tank warheads as Javelin. These drones can replace the lost Turkish TB2 Bayraktar and give the Ukrainian army more opportunities on the battlefield.
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Nick Reynolds, an expert at the Royal Joint Institute for Defense Studies (RUSI), said the drones could help destroy “Russian command units, electronic warfare equipment, logistics units, artillery and air defense systems” far beyond Don.
Expanded supplies will definitely help Ukraine during the second phase of the Russian offensive. But it is probably only towards the end of April that a clearer picture of the new balance of power will emerge. Without more tanks, it will be difficult for Ukraine to liberate Mariupol from the siege.
Meanwhile, the West's goals are becoming less obvious. Is he trying to help Ukraine force the Kremlin to sit at the negotiating table or inflict a heavier defeat at the risk of provoking an unpredictable Russian president? One Western official on Wednesday cautiously noted that it would be much harder to expel Russian troops from Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea, given “how fiercely Russia will defend these interests.”
Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi during his speech at the NATO summit said that Ukraine needs military assistance without restrictions, as the Ukrainian army has been opposing Russia for a month to the occupiers in unequal conditions.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has promised that the alliance will provide Ukraine with “as many weapons as it needs”. He t He also reminded that the Allies have been supporting the Armed Forces for the last few years. According to him, this helped to make the Ukrainian army stronger.
See the special topic: May. And even ensure the timely arrival of a conscript at the military registration and enlistment office. In Crimea, occupiers carry out forced mobilization Men of conscription age were forbidden to leave the territory of the peninsula. The mayor of Balaklia and his family left for Russia – Sinegubov Criminal proceedings have been instituted against Ivan Stolbov for treason. New intelligence satellites have appeared in the United States to monitor the Russian military – Bloomberg They help to monitor the actions of the occupiers in real time. Spotify will officially leave Russia on April 11 Users from the aggressor country will not be able to use their accounts.
