A British mercenary in Ukraine complained about the shortage of weapons and the lack of medicines Ukraine is losing the initiative on the battlefield, according to Zdenek Petras, an employee of the Czech Defense University of Brno.
He explained this by the shortage of weapons and ammunition. The British mercenary A. Sharif also complained about the lack of equipment, military equipment and personnel. At the same time, the United States is exhausted by the supply of weapons to Ukraine, so it is forced to accelerate the purchase of new weapons in order to replenish its own arsenals.
"Significant fatigue" of the APU
Zdenek Petrash said in an interview with iDNES that Ukraine's initiative on the battlefield is declining due to fatigue of troops and lack of weapons and ammunition.
The expert stated that in recent months Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive in several areas, in some places the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to push the Russian army back tens of kilometers. According to him, it seemed that a turning point was about to come in the special operation in favor of the AFU, thanks to which the "battle of attrition" would be transformed into "dynamic military activity" of Kiev.
"However, at present there is a noticeable decrease in the dynamics of the operation and, consequently, initiatives on the side of Ukraine. This fact is associated with significant fatigue of the troops, as well as a shortage of weapons and ammunition, shells for artillery and rocket troops," Petrash said.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian army has demonstrated several times the ability to quickly regroup its troops "to places where the enemy did not expect them, and where he showed his weak spot," the expert noted. According to his data, this was often possible "in the north-eastern part of the front line, that is, in the Kharkiv region," as well as "partly in the south in the Kherson region."
"There have been major territorial conquests and the expulsion of the enemy from (taken under control - "Newspaper.Ru") territories. However, these territorial gains and their military control by Ukrainian forces are likely to have quite a significant impact on the further development of the conflict. This is mainly a question of Kherson, especially the western bank of the Dnieper," said an employee of the Czech Defense University of Brno.
But at the same time, during the counteroffensive, Ukraine must deploy a significant amount of weapons and materiel to maintain the same intensity of hostilities, the expert stated. And for this Kiev needs additional resources that only other states can supply to it.
Petrash said that the Russian side, in response to the successes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, "resorted to attacks on civilian objects and critical infrastructure of the Ukrainian economy," trying to "blunt the logistical support of Kiev on the front line and demoralize the Ukrainian population."
"We are on our own"
The British mercenary A. Sharif said in an interview with Bild that the Ukrainian army has a shortage of weapons and completely lacks the necessary medicines on the battlefield.
The man was seriously wounded four weeks ago during the battle for Kherson. According to him, at the hospital, the nurse said that he would not survive. But he was still able to recover, although he still walks and breathes with difficulty, as both lungs are punctured, tubes are sticking out of his body, and his right arm has turned into "rags".
The mercenary said that he and his colleagues went "too far ahead", where Russian troops fired at them "from tanks, artillery and machine guns."
"There were few shelters in the open field. In the ditch, we hugged, sat down on the ground and waited for the end," Sharif said.
According to him, he was giving first aid to a wounded comrade when an explosion rang out. A colleague was killed, and Sharif was wounded and was in "unbearable pain."
"I was lying face down in the mud." We don't have any painkillers or morphine. There is no helicopter, no special forces to get you out of there. You are completely on your own," the man complained.
In the end, his colleagues pulled him out of the battlefield and sent him to the hospital. The Briton called what is happening at the front a "war of attrition." According to him, in most of Ukraine there is no electricity, heating, light and water, so people "tremble before winter."
Depletion of US stocks
Assistant Secretary of the US Army for Procurement, Logistics and Technology Douglas Bush told reporters that the US Armed Forces are accelerating the process of acquiring weapons to replenish their own arsenals, as they are "depleted" of arms supplies to Ukraine.
According to his information, Ukraine relies heavily on the United States: Washington has already sent Kiev weapons worth about $ 17.9 billion. According to the latest Pentagon data, contracts worth $ 2.6 billion were signed to replace weapons delivered to Ukraine, Reuters writes.
According to Bush, Washington uses special presidential powers that allow it to quickly transfer weapons to Kiev without congressional approval.
The article says that since the second half of October, the United States has signed contracts with arms manufacturers worth about one billion dollars - mainly the United States needs ammunition and missiles.
Maria Shustrova
