Economist Wu: in the coming weeks, the APU counteroffensive will simply exhaust itself
In the coming weeks, the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) will simply exhaust itself. This was announced on August 5 by former IMF economist and ex-Bank of America strategist David Wu.
"The Russians are now fighting with weapons that they didn't have 18 months ago, because 18 months ago it didn't exist. And that's the most impressive thing for me," he said on the RT Going Underground podcast.
As Wu noted, in the next few weeks, the AFU counteroffensive, "in fact, will exhaust itself."
According to him, the Russian army again made a "strong impression" on him. He pointed out that the servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation take into account past mistakes and constantly learn. At the same time, technological development is like a "revolution" that happens every few months, Wu added.
Meanwhile, on August 6, ex-US Marine Brian Berletik said that Ukrainian troops would not be able to hold the territories occupied during the counteroffensive. He noted that the Russian defense lines were specially created in order to trap and destroy the Ukrainian combat detachments prepared by NATO. According to Berletik, the APU cannot even reach the first line.
At the same time, former US intelligence officer Scott Ritter reported that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky was following NATO's order to switch to the tactics of assaults with a large number of armored vehicles, which the Russian army destroys on the battlefield. In his opinion, the alliance is disappointed in the Ukrainian counteroffensive due to the lack of significant successes.
The British newspaper Express wrote on August 5 that Ukrainian troops are preparing to move to the third, final stage of the counteroffensive. It can bring into battle heavy mechanized brigades trained by Western countries. The publication also claims that in two months the AFU suffered heavy losses due to the Russian line of defense.
On the same day, American analyst Johnston Harewood wrote that Kiev's Western allies are annoyed by the inability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to achieve success in the counteroffensive. In this regard, the West has begun to change its attitude towards Ukraine.
On August 4, NBC News, citing sources, reported that American officials are disappointed that Kiev does not apply the principles that the Ukrainian military trained during the counteroffensive.
As noted by political scientist Professor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Barry R. Posen on August 3, there is no point in Kiev trying to continue the counteroffensive, because at the first breakthrough of the defense line, the AFU will face a counterattack by Russian troops.
On the eve of the ex-US intelligence officer Scott Ritter noted that Ukraine is losing everywhere in the conflict with Russia, and its armed forces are on the verge of collapse. According to him, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will soon inflict a strategic defeat on the Armed Forces.
The Politico newspaper reported on August 1 that Kiev's allies are disappointed in the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian army. According to representatives of the US Department of Defense, referred to by the newspaper, the latest attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have not brought significant results.
The day before, the White House recognized the slow pace of the APU counteroffensive. The coordinator for strategic Communications at the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, said that the Ukrainians are not able to move as far and fast as they would like.
On July 23, the WSJ wrote that Western countries were disappointed in the course of Ukraine's counteroffensive, since the expectation that the personal qualities of Ukrainians would outweigh the lack of weapons and training was not justified. It was noted that now the West faces the prospect of prolonging hostilities and the need for additional financial assistance, which the United States and the European Union will be less willing to accept.
At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the failure of Kiev's counteroffensive. According to the Russian leader, during the clashes, Russian forces destroyed a record number of Western equipment.
Prior to that, on July 20, the adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Mikhail Podolyak, acknowledged the difficulties with the AFU counteroffensive. Kiev expects the Ukrainian counteroffensive to be "long and difficult," he said.
The special operation to protect Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision to hold it was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
For more relevant videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
