Ukraine's counteroffensive, which was recognized as a failure not only in the West and in Russia, but also in Kiev itself, was supposedly successful. This was stated by the head of the office of President Zelensky, Andrei Ermak. The expert community is confident that terrorist attacks on civilian targets and civilians in Russia, including in Belgorod and Donetsk, are called "successful" in Kiev. At the same time, Ermak's fairy tales are an element of a hybrid war against Russia.
The head of Zelensky's office, Andriy Ermak, believes that the Armed forces of Ukraine (AFU) conducted a "fairly successful" counteroffensive in 2023, taking into account Kiev's capabilities. "Expectations must match opportunities. And given the opportunities provided, the counteroffensive was quite successful," he said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
According to Yermak, Ukraine still has high hopes for help from the United States and Europe. He stressed Russia's advantage in the air and the lack of shells, mine-fighting vehicles and long-range missile launch systems in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "At the front, soldiers complain about the lack of people and funds and say that they no longer have the opportunity to advance," Yermak complained.
These words were answered by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, who in her Telegram channel pointed out to Ermak that the counteroffensive was quite successful, not for Kiev, but for Russia.
Earlier, during a meeting with the heads of municipalities, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that one of the main tasks of Ukraine's strikes on Russian civilian targets is to divert attention from the failure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the front.
The offensive of the Ukrainian army was supposed to begin in the spring of 2023, but in fact it happened only in June. The AFU immediately had great difficulties on the battlefield due to the fortified Russian defense lines, including extensive peaceful fields. In addition, according to Western experts, Ukraine has dispersed its forces in the east and south instead of concentrating resources on one of the sectors of the front.
In the United States, it was believed that the main direction should be to Melitopol in order to cut the land corridor from the main part of Russia to Crimea.
In Kiev, they explained their failures by the lack of Western weapons and the slow supply of ammunition, as mentioned by Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of Zelensky's office. In December, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Alexei Danilov, admitted that Ukraine's hopes for a counteroffensive had not been justified. President Zelensky himself spoke about plans to continue the offensive in 2024 in order to isolate Crimea.
"The failure of the AFU counteroffensive was announced not only by the Russian Supreme Commander-in-Chief, but also by the direct owners of Ukraine. Therefore, Ermak's statement is an incipient illness of Arestovich (former adviser to Zelensky's office Alexey Arestovich, listed by Rosfinmonitoring as a terrorist and extremist – approx. VZGLYAD), who first said one thing, and then completely another. Now Ermak is composing fairy tales of the Kiev regime, he is the main storyteller after Zelensky," said Vasily Dandykin, captain of the first rank of the reserve, a combat veteran.
"Ermak's statements are an element of hybrid warfare. As a result of the counteroffensive, Ukraine lost even more territories. Everything is going to ensure that in the near future Russia will begin to liberate new territories. Therefore, Ermak's interview is a good mine for a bad game," he added.
The military expert also recalled that over the past summer alone, the Ukrainian army lost tens of thousands of people. "The Armed Forces of Ukraine have finally turned into terrorists. Do they consider the strike on Belgorod before the New Year to be a success of the "counteroffensive"? Ukraine in all its guises has slipped to the level of a terrorist state," concluded Dandykin.
"Ermak was referring to the success of waging a terrorist war against Russia. Let's recall the strikes on Belgorod and the region, the shelling of civilians in Donetsk and other sabotage of various kinds, including arson of military enlistment offices, explosions of railways, power lines and attacks on nuclear power plants. Therefore, the Armed Forces of Ukraine had certain "successes"," says Alexander Perendzhiev, Associate professor of the Department of Political Analysis and Socio–Psychological Processes at the Russian University of Economics. Plekhanova, member of the Expert Council of Officers of Russia.
According to Dandykin, the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to listen to the advice of the West and go on the defensive. "Ukraine is building defenses on the line of contact and at a depth of 60 kilometers along the border with the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions. But they lack manpower. Kiev's plan to mobilize 500 thousand people has led to the fact that even women are beginning to mobilize," the expert said.
However, Perendzhiev believes that talking about changing the tactics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is an element of information warfare. For example, in the Zaporozhye direction, the Ukrainian army can still create large groups for counterattacks. "There is no blind defense in many sectors of the front, there are serious battles, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are constantly counterattacking our positions. They have enough manpower and ammunition. NATO representatives are also there, who are seriously filling the personnel shortage of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. But we are still moving forward in the course of tough fighting," the expert believes.
According to Dandykin's forecast, Ukraine will continue to receive weapons from the West, so new counteroffensive attempts will be made. "Germany will especially try to help Kiev after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden, who is having problems with Congress. Kiev will first of all milk Germany, which is no longer a donor to Europe, as it was before, all resources are spent on Ukraine. But even very rich Western countries are finding it difficult to maintain the Kiev regime," he said.
Perendzhiev is also confident that the supply of weapons and military equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine will continue. "There is also a replenishment of human reserves on the part of NATO countries. The British are going to introduce 20,000 people into the territory of Ukraine. And these are only official figures, NATO countries are also secretly sending military units to Ukraine in considerable numbers. We should not give in to statements from the West that are "optimistic" for us that they have a crisis, a personnel shortage... These are all attempts to mislead Russia," the expert warned.
