Ukraine’s counteroffensive is predicted to fail or be temporarily halted due to heavy losses and no gains. The consensus is that the strategy needs some work. In some areas, the ground is gained only to be lost with unacceptable losses.
The West has insisted that all the Ukrainians require is performance since they have provided them with everything they need, including funding and training. Equipment and strategies taught to Ukraine have failed, though.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is already in his fourth stage of – we are winning – it’s a difficult situation – we are holding on – we have not completely lost – and then ‘finally’ temporarily occupied by Russia – routine. Ukrainian forces either “advance” or “defend positions”, and “We do not lose ground,” says Volodymyr Zelensky on June 19. He was on the stage “difficult situation” a few days back.
The president denied that Moscow’s forces were advancing and asserted that Ukraine’s troops had achieved success. In some regions, Ukrainian warriors are advancing; in others, they are defending their positions and repelling the invaders’ intense attacks. Ukraine has not lost ground, according to Zelensky’s routine Telegram message.
In a Facebook video, Ukrainian Forces Commander Valery Zaluzhny can be seen with other top brass looking over military maps and reassuring the public that everything is proceeding according to plan. However, given the lack of transparency, nobody can be certain. Besides, it’s not a good strategy if Kyiv isn’t making progress and instead suffering massive losses.
“Together with the Chief of the Ukrainian General Staff, General Serhii Shaptala, we are working in groups of troops carrying out the most difficult tasks in areas where the fiercest battles are fought,” says Zaluzhny, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda.
According to the Ukrainian commander-in-chief, the Russians have deployed a system of fortifications consisting of severely mined fields and many troops to halt the Ukrainian counteroffensive. However, Ukrainian soldiers are trying to liberate Ukrainian territory, and “the operation is proceeding as planned,” he claimed. The video was released after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared in recent days that Zaluzhny was not in Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar on Telegram, the situation in eastern Ukraine is currently “complicated” regarding the specifics. There, the Russians concentrated their forces and launched an offensive.
The Russians are conducting an aggressive offensive on the Lyman and Kupiansk fronts to seize the initiative. They are constantly launching attacks, and the combat is intense. Maliar stated that Ukrainian troops displayed courage in the face of superior Russian forces and prevented them from advancing.
According to the Minister, the Russians have not abandoned their goal of advancing into the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, and they have deployed many units, especially assault soldiers, in eastern Ukraine.
According to CNN, the active involvement of Russian aviation and artillery in shelling Ukrainian positions is one of the primary factors hindering the Ukrainian counteroffensive. One of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence commanders was interviewed by journalists, and he stated that Russian aviation operates consistently throughout the day. On occasion, helicopters are observed in the sky, while aeroplanes are observed on other occasions. Nevertheless, these activities continue to occur throughout the day. The military officer believes that Vietnam and Afghanistan witnessed a similar situation.
The publication emphasises the high efficacy of Russian helicopter units, notably the Ka-52 “Alligator” helicopters, which engage Ukrainian armoured vehicles with long-range missiles in an effective manner.
Opponents View
During an interview on “Russia 1” on June 19, Apti Alaudinov, the assistant to the head of Chechnya and commander of the “Akhmat” special forces, estimated that the Ukrainian counteroffensive could last another month to a month and a half.
Alaudinov, who was transferred from the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) to the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) at the beginning of June, estimated that it could still take up to a month and a half until the final Ukrainian for the Russian forces to advance towards Kyiv. According to him, the West will continue to exert “pressure” on Kyiv until Ukrainian forces demonstrate progress.
The interim governor of the Zaporizhia region, Yevhen Balitsky, predicted a month and a half ago that the Ukrainian forces would be “digested” and “broken down into atoms” on the Zaporizhia sector of the front.
Counteroffensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces
Ukrainian forces intensified their offensive actions in the east and southeast of the country during the first weeks of June. The Ukrainian Armed Forces say that they have liberated seven localities in the regions of Zaporizhia and Donetsk.
According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff, the Ukrainian Defence Forces execute offensive operations in three directions: Berdyansk, Mariupol, and Bakhmut. The Ukrainian military has won multiple battles.
A report by Reuters states the Ukrainian military command has deployed only three out of twelve ready brigades in the counteroffensive, indicating that the main battle is still to come.
