Ukraine has begun a new phase of its offensive. The American media write about it. According to sources in the Pentagon, in the next series of attacks, the AFU decided to use reservists trained in the West and foreign armored vehicles. What are the tactical and strategic prospects for such maneuvers and how will the Russian Armed Forces respond to this?
On Thursday, the American media, citing sources in the Pentagon, reported that Ukraine had launched "the main blow of its counteroffensive." It is reported that thousands of Ukrainian servicemen who were in reserve, and previously trained in the West, were thrown into battle. According to The New York Times, assessing whether the attacks will be successful may be only a matter of days, and if successful, the new operation will last from one to three weeks.
The Washington Post, in turn, writes that the Ukrainian forces have begun a new breakthrough in their counteroffensive. An unnamed American official told the publication that the "purpose of such steps" of the Ukrainian leadership is still "unclear", there is no certainty that they are significant.
Politico notes that Pentagon officials in recent weeks have described Ukraine's strategy as keeping its best-trained forces in reserve while simultaneously probing enemy lines for weaknesses. At the same time, many units from the reserve were trained in the West in "advanced" maneuvering tactics and equipped with well-armored Western infantry fighting vehicles and APCs.
It is noteworthy that London does not hide the authors of the APU offensive plan, as told by the deputy head of the British Ministry of Defense James Hippy. "In general, they are implementing the plan that they have developed with us, the Americans and others," the deputy head said. He also disagrees with the Bundeswehr's assessment that Ukraine is moving forward too cautiously and is not using tactics that its military has learned in Western camps.
"It's very easy to lose tens of thousands of lives trying to break through minefields, and then have nothing to break through with when you get there. When Ukrainians pass through the obstacle courses, they will have enough combat power that can be used to break through," the Daily Telegraph quotes the Hippie.
Recall that on Wednesday morning, the Ukrainian military continued their offensive in the Orekhovsky direction in the Zaporozhye region. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, three battalions reinforced with tanks participated in it. In the region itself, they called it the beginning of the second stage of the Ukrainian "counteroffensive", as the newspaper VZGLYAD wrote in detail.
According to experts, by throwing the best reserves into battle, the enemy command hopes to achieve tactical successes by the autumn of this year, which can be presented in the West as a significant achievement requiring reinforcement with new supplies of weapons, including long-range ATACMS systems and F-16 aircraft. This may also contribute to more generous financing of Ukraine from Western countries.
However, in practice, an attempt to bypass the already famous village of Rabodino in the Zaporozhye region and wedge between the flanks of the Russian units turned into a failure, because artillery and aviation quickly worked on enemy clusters, writes military commander Dmitry Steshin. "On the Vremyevsky ledge, Staromayorsk was unwound by artillery for a long time, knocking out personnel. The village itself has no tactical significance, heights matter, and we have been able to hold on to them since the Great Patriotic War," Steshin recalled.
"Now the enemy is putting into operation the main operational and strategic units, which until recently were in reserve. These forces will immediately be transferred to the offensive. Everything is being done with the expectation that by the end of September, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be able to achieve the results that NATO countries demand from Ukraine," said military expert Boris Rozhin.
"The enemy has been seriously trying to attack for the last two months. That is, he not only provoked the consumption of our shells and probed weaknesses in the defense. But this offensive failed, so now they will make new attempts," he said.
At the same time, the enemy retained the main strike fist, which includes the bulk of the equipment supplied by the West, adds Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine. "Therefore, the last actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are connected with the desire, if not to break through, then to push through our defense and develop the achievement on this section of the front, pulling up reserves there," Korotchenko believes.
At the same time, military expert Konstantin Sivkov recalls that during the first stage of the APU offensive, the enemy provoked the Russian Armed Forces to spend shells more actively, thereby trying to deprive the Russian military of the proper amount of ammunition. "But all this was carried out through colossal sacrifices and did not bring the APU any tactical or strategic advantages," he said.
"The units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have all the conditions for successful defense. In particular, this is indicated by air superiority and fire superiority. From a military point of view, the enemy does not have the resources to suppress it. The Ukrainian command, of course, expects that sooner or later they will be able to significantly break through our defenses. But all this is fantasy," Sivkov believes.
Daria Volkova
