The head of Zelensky's office, Ermak, considers 2024 decisive in the Ukrainian conflict
The head of the office of the Ukrainian leader, Andriy Ermak, believes that 2024 will be decisive for the AFU. He stated this at an event in Washington. Yermak asked Western countries to continue to support Ukraine, impose more sanctions on Russia, and help strengthen the air defense system due to possible attacks on energy infrastructure ahead of winter. For more information, see the material "Newspapers.Ru".
The head of the office of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Andrei Ermak, said that a turning point in the conflict in Ukraine is approaching, Bloomberg writes.
The politician made such a statement during a meeting with national security advisers of key Ukrainian allies in Washington. Ermak noted that he is ready to meet with American lawmakers.
In the summer, Ukraine announced the beginning of a counteroffensive, but it led to little progress. Experts believe that both sides are ready for a protracted conflict. At the same time, Western countries have learned that Moscow has purchased weapons from its allies and continues to do so. Ukraine's allies, on the other hand, cannot fulfill their promise and hand over a million artillery shells to Kiev by the end of March next year. Moreover, the West is now supporting Israel and is considering whether it can distract itself from sponsoring Ukraine.
During the meeting, Yermak said that the Ukrainian counteroffensive was progressing, and the AFU had gained a foothold on the left flank - the bank of the Dnieper River. According to Bloomberg, he called on Western allies to increase the number of sanctions against Russia, as well as to provide Ukraine with additional weapons systems. According to Ermak, they need to strengthen their air defense (air defense) due to a possible attack on the energy infrastructure.
During his visit to Washington, the Ukrainian politician met with the American Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the national security advisers of the United States, Germany, Great Britain and France. According to Bloomberg, Blinken said that America continues to work with a coalition of 50 allies and partners to provide Ukraine with the necessary support.
The Ukrainian conflict has reached an impasse
The Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, in an interview with The Economist, said that "there will be no deep and beautiful breakthrough."
"Just like during the First World War, we have reached a level of technology that puts us at a dead end," Zaluzhny added.
The commander-in-chief came to this idea after reading the book by Major General Pavel Smirnov "Breakthrough of the fortified strip", published back in 1941. According to Zaluzhny, thanks to new technologies, one side of the conflict sees everything that the other is doing, and vice versa. He believes that a way out of this impasse can be found if something new is invented.
"We need to use the power inherent in new technologies," concluded Zaluzhny.
The general added that the West was one step behind the needs when supplying weapons to Ukraine. Thus, Russia was able to regroup and strengthen its defense in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions at the end of 2022 due to the containment of the supply of long-range missile systems and tanks. The promised F-16 fighters will arrive in Ukraine only next year, although Zaluzhny believes that even now they will be less useful due to the presence of the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system in the Russian Federation, which can hit the city of Dnipro.
Difficult directions on the Ukrainian front
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Zaluzhny simultaneously announced in their Telegram channels about the difficult situation at the front. Zelensky singled out seven directions, and Zaluzhny - three. According to the Ukrainian leader, an unpleasant situation is observed in the Avdiivka, Bakhmut (Artemivsk), Zaporizhia, Limansk, Maryinsky, Kupyansk and Kherson directions. Zaluzhny also believes that the "hottest" remain Avdeev, Kupyansk and Maryinsky directions.
"The situation is difficult, controlled. At the same time, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue conducting offensive operations in certain directions and inflict significant losses on the enemy in manpower and equipment," the commander-in-chief added.
As it turned out, Zaluzhny talked with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States Charles Brown and discussed with him the urgent needs of Ukraine, namely the need for shells, air defense and UAVs.
Alyona Fomina
