Ukraine prepares a war of attrition while waiting for NATO support

Ukraine It is already preparing for a long war of attrition in the face of Russia’s inability to achieve its military objectives in the first eleven months of the campaign, awaiting support this week from NATO, whose members have promised kyiv tanks.

“Russia’s preparations for a protracted war mean the enemy’s understanding that his plan for the rapid conquest of Ukraine is not achievable. That is why (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is now considering a long war of attrition.” Ukrainian military intelligence reported on Monday.

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kyiv believes that the battle of Soledar, a Donetsk town assaulted a few days ago by Russian troops after several months of offensive, is an example of this new Russian strategy.

Welding, the first step

Ukrainian Intelligence spokesman Andrei Yusov explained that Russia it is designing a “war economy” and trying to make its citizens aware that the conflict is going on for a long time.

Instead, he stressed, both Ukraine like the Western powers, they are not interested in extending military actions. In fact, kyiv is looking for a victory or, at least, a turning point on the battlefield in 2023.

After the withdrawal, first from the eastern Kharkiv region and then from southern Kherson, Russian troops have dedicated themselves to fortifying their positions fearing a new Ukrainian offensive against the territories annexed by the Kremlin.

In this strategy of buying time until the mobilized reservists can fight, the role of the private military company Wagner is crucial, which was the one that took Soledar with small assault units and the invaluable help of inmates.

Although kyiv assures that his troops continue to resist in that town, Wagner reported today that, after the victory in Soledar, he is now advancing towards the important Ukrainian bastion of Bakhmut.

This still taken from AFP video shows a member of the Ukrainian army looking away as a BM-21’Grad’ MLRS 122mm rocket launcher fires outside Soledar on January 11, 2023. (Photo: Arman SOLDIN / AFP) (ARMAN SOLDIN /)

Ukraine, a NATO guest

The Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine meets on Friday at the Ramstein air base (Germany) chaired by the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin.

The main guest is Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who will meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

kyiv needs several hundred tanks and main battle tanks to retake the occupied territories. After the US (50 Bradley), Germany (40 Marder) and France (AMX-10 RC), the UK also promised 14 Challenger 2 tanks over the weekend.

Germany is the most criticized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his allies for its reluctance to supply kyiv with the quintessential European tank, the Leopard. Amid the controversy, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced her resignation on Monday.

Precisely, one of the tasks of his successor will be to decide on sending Ukraine of those tanks after Berlin already delivered the Gepard and Marder main battle tanks to kyiv.

In this regard, the Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, today in Berlin urged the German government to supply all kinds of weapons to Ukraine and stated that there is no reason to block support for kyiv.

“The defeat of Ukraine could become the prelude to the Third World War. Therefore, today there is no reason to block support for kyiv and delay it indefinitely. I call on the German government to act decisively and supply Ukraine with all kinds of weapons.” said.

Morawiecki recalled that “Ukrainians are not only fighting for their freedom, but also to defend Europe” and described relations with Russia of “pact with the devil”.

Suddenly, Ukrainian soldiers have begun training on US soil, specifically in Oklahoma, in the use of the Patriot anti-aircraft batteries that Washington has promised to send to Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Russian Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool via AP) (Mikhail Klimentyev/)

Kremlin warnings

Vladimir Putin He criticized this Monday in a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine.

“Putin drew attention to the destructive line of the kyiv regime, which is betting on the intensification of hostilities with the support of Western patrons increasing supplies of weapons and military equipment,” reported the Kremlin.

This same Monday, the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov, warned that the British Challenger 2 tanks “will burn like the rest” of Western weapons.

The Kremlin added that new arms supplies to Ukraine will not be able to influence “the situation on the ground” and “can only lengthen the story and cause further harm to the Ukrainian state.”

Ukrainewhich has been using T-72 tanks for decades, has received more than 230 modernized Soviet tanks from Poland and the Czech Republic, but has yet to receive Western main battle tanks.

Source: Elcomercio