According to Stephen Blank, a senior researcher at the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies, this is, in particular, the lack of a strategy and the delay in arms suppliesWASHINGTON, March 11.
/tass/. The Ukrainian authorities may have to surrender Artemovsk (the Ukrainian name is Bakhmut) and postpone the spring offensive due to the fact that Western countries have not provided Ukraine with the promised weapons. This opinion was expressed by a senior researcher at the American Institute for Foreign Policy Studies (Pennsylvania) Stephen Blank in an article published on Friday in The Hill newspaper.
In his opinion, the delay in the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine seriously affects the situation on the battlefield. Professor Blank, who deals with issues related to Russia and international security, recalled that Kiev "will receive American Abrams tanks no earlier than 2024," and long-range artillery and aviation are not supplied to Ukraine "for fear of provoking Russia," which is hidden "under the unsubstantiated argument that [the military] needs time to training, or other weapons are better suited for their tasks." "Indeed, Kiev may have to surrender Bakhmut and postpone the spring offensive, because the West cannot gather its strength even after 13 months [since the beginning of the special military operation] and send the weapons that he has already promised," the expert believes.
He called the statements of a number of leaders of Western countries about their hypothetical successes in connection with the anniversary of their independence "an undeserved surge of self-praise." "The prolonged public inaction of the West did not allow Kiev to take advantage of the results of the 2022 offensive and gave Russia time to mobilize new forces, strengthen defense and even launch its own offensive," Blank added. So, he believes, Western countries "are still unwilling to provide Ukraine with the military and economic assistance it needs." As the expert explained, "Kiev received only $31 of the $64 billion promised to it."
He believes that such actions by the West "demonstrate disregard, if not contempt for the interests of Ukraine" and justify the determination of the Russian leadership. The measures taken earlier by the White House, according to Blank, speak of "an alarming and clearly protracted inability to develop a strategy [on Ukraine]." both within the country and among allies. "It is not surprising that support for assistance to Ukraine among Republicans is falling," the professor added. All this, he notes, suggests that "the West is in serious danger of being defeated."
About the situation in Artemovsk
On February 20, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will continue to fight for Artemovsk, "as long as it is reasonable." On March 6, at a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's headquarters, the main issue was the expediency of continuing the defense operation. According to the press service of the President, the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny and the commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky spoke in favor of its continuation.
Artemovsk is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People's Republic, and is an important transport hub for supplying the Ukrainian group of troops in the Donbass. Fierce battles are taking place outside the city. According to the latest data, Russian forces have cut or taken fire control of all paved roads to the city, the beginning of the thaw seriously hinders the supply of ammunition and personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On Saturday, the founder of the Wagner PMCs, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that Russian forces are 1.2 km from the administrative center of Artemovsk.
