The Ukrainian army, due to a lack of personnel and weapons, gives the initiative in conducting combat operations to the Russian Armed Forces (AF) and tries to hold its position. The newspaper wrote about this on February 4 The New York Times.
As noted in the publication, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) “gave the initiative to Russia” and are “now digging in” in attempts to maintain their positions. Russia in some sectors of the front is capable of using five times more shells than Ukrainian fighters, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in turn, are attempting to replace artillery strikes with drone attacks, but this is not as effective, the NYT emphasized.
“Right now we don’t have enough equipment, not enough people to go on the offensive. Therefore, the main goal at the moment is to maintain the positions that we have,” the newspaper quoted one of the Ukrainian officers as saying.
Russia still has dominance in the skies, which gives Russian military personnel the opportunity to effectively carry out airstrikes against positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“There is a shortage of critical materials necessary for the repair and maintenance of Ukrainian armored vehicles,” the authors of the article noted.
Earlier, on January 28, it was reported that, according to information from the Welt TV channel, the Russian army continues to hold the initiative in the special operation in Ukraine. It was noted that the Russian Armed Forces managed to achieve success in the Donetsk direction.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on January 16 that the counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces ended in absolute failure; the initiative in the special operation zone lies entirely with Russian military personnel. According to him, if this continues, the question of Ukraine’s statehood will arise.
Prior to this, on January 9, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russian forces retain the strategic initiative along the entire line of combat contact. He also added that the Kiev regime is trying to “drive its soldiers to slaughter” and is looking for any opportunities to replenish the Ukrainian army.
The special operation to protect Donbass, the beginning of which was announced by the Russian President on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of an aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
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