Ukraine is ready for a decisive spring offensive against enemy positions. To do this, it accumulates Western weapons and creates new assault units. However, the severe test for the AFU will be to recover the losses and maintain the motivation of the war-weary troops.
This was reported by The New York Times.
The director of the McCain Institute, Evelyn Farkas, said in an NYT commentary that Ukraine can inflict losses on the Russian army that could have far-reaching geopolitical consequences if it receives weapons and prepares troops in time. In her opinion, "Ukraine can make the Russian Federation a weakened military force in Eastern Europe with little leverage in negotiations to end the war." However, the NYT notes that the armed forces' success is hardly guaranteed, as allies are in no rush to send weapons, and soldiers must settle for crash courses in assault tactics.
She said that a lot could change with the arrival of new Western weapons and tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers training in Ukraine and Europe. The new Ukrainian counteroffensive will test the Ukrainian army's ability to rearm and rebuild battalions while maintaining the motivation and maneuverability that gave it the upper hand in three previous counteroffensives, the NYT writes.
At the initial stage, the Ukrainian counteroffensive may depend on overcoming extensive minefields; military analysts told the NYT. The publication writes that weapons and equipment for breaching trench lines and crossing minefields appear in Ukraine, but it remains unclear whether they are in sufficient quantity. To overcome the vast minefields, Ukraine will also rely on demining vehicles in its arsenal since Soviet times, some of which were captured by the Russians.
The NYT notes that demining can be done by hand, with soldiers "feeling" the ground and keeping a close eye on stretchers while walking in front of assault units or with specialized equipment.
At the same time, the publication writes, the morale of Ukrainian fighters, which for most of the war was better than that of the enemy, "becomes an increasing problem." In dozens of recent interviews, soldiers stationed near Bakhmut or coming out of the street fighting for short breaks expressed horror at the scale of the violence and deaths.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on March 29, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov stated that the counteroffensive of Ukrainian troops is planned in several directions, and its start will depend on weather conditions.
On March 27, Reznikov announced that Ukraine had received powerful armored vehicles from Western partners, including Challenger 2 tanks.
On March 28, Reznikov demonstrated control of the British Challenger tank.
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