“The death of the minister could further unite the Ukrainians in the resistance”

In a few days, the forces ukrainian they are receiving bad news: the capture of the eastern town of Soledar at the hands of the Russian mercenaries of the Wagner Group; the bombardment of Dnipro, near kyiv, which caused the death of 45 people last Saturday; and the death this Wednesday of the Minister of the Interior, Denys Monastyrskywho died along with 14 other people after the helicopter in which he was traveling fell.

After several months in which Ukraine was neutralizing the advance of Russia In the east of the country, even making them flee key cities like Kherson, the war has been bringing important victories to the Kremlin.

However, nothing has been said, and when we are already going through the 11 months of confrontations, everything suggests that the war will continue for several more months.

In this regard, we spoke with the international analyst, .

– Ukraine suffered several attacks this week, and today the death of the Minister of the Interior occurs. Is Russia recovering after several months of a bogged down conflict?

The minister is still being investigated. There are several suspicions, because some witnesses have said that the helicopter exploded before falling, but you have to be careful with this because it could be an accident, a technical problem or an attack. But it is food for thought, as it coincided with the annual press conference of Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, who has said that he does not accept any kind of Ukrainian plan to resolve the conflict and has flatly refused to negotiate.

Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi died on Wednesday after his helicopter crashed. It is the highest political position that perishes during the war. EFE/EPA/ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE (ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE/)

– Could the death of the Interior Minister be a moral blow for Ukraine? A breaking point? He was the highest-ranking official to die in the war…

On the one hand, it can be a blow to the command structure, especially in the cabinet of President Zelensky. But, on the other hand, Ukrainian morale is very strong because they continue to resist, despite all the losses they are suffering against -supposedly- the second most powerful army in the world.

The death of the interior minister could further unite the Ukrainians in the resistance. Do not underestimate the willpower of this people who have rejected the Russian invasion. What has happened is a blow, but not a breaking point. Rather, what could make an impact would be the death of Zelensky himself.

– What can be expected from the conflict in the coming months?

According to various military analysts, both Western and some Russian, there could be news when the winter ends, around April. The war front is more or less stabilized with small advances, both by the Russians and the Ukrainians. But the Russians are finishing training part of the reservists they brought with them to the mobilization, while the Ukrainians are training part of their forces in NATO countries. Indeed, it is possible that something will happen in the spring, and after winter we will see news that may be relevant, which may be related to the supply of ammunition and weapon systems.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, with his Minister of the Interior, Denys Monastyrskyi, in a photo from last June. REUTERS (UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER /)

– Zelensky continues to demand more weapons and speed in the delivery of promised weapons…

France has announced that it wants to provide Ukraine with light tanks and Germany remains reluctant to deliver its Leopard 2s. There is a lot of pressure to provide Ukraine with Western tanks because it would complicate logistics and also bring a number of problems related to spare parts. All of the ammunition for these weapons is NATO compatible, but there aren’t that many spare parts. The issue of arms supply can be a serious problem.

Meanwhile, Russia continues to bombard infrastructure and civilian centers. And this is not new, because unfortunately this happens in war where the aim is to break the morale of the resisting population. Despite the talk of hybrid warfare, we are in a conventional war situation, where civilians are included in the targets.

So Zelensky wants weapon systems to intercept Russian missiles because they have completely weakened the ability to produce electrical power in one part of the country.

Russia is developing this strategy of hitting Ukraine’s key infrastructure in order to undermine the resilience of both Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.

Source: Elcomercio