Dina Mahmoud (London)
Ukraine announced yesterday that it had “stopped” the Russian attack on Kharkiv, which has been ongoing for two weeks, and began a counterattack in this region in the northeast of the country, which President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he was visiting.
Since May 10, Kiev has been facing a Russian ground attack on the Kharkiv region, where thousands of soldiers stormed the border and achieved the largest field progress in 18 months.
Colonel Igor Prokhorenko, a Ukrainian army official, said yesterday that after two weeks of fighting, “the Ukrainian Defense Forces have stopped the Russian forces” and are “carrying out counter-offensive operations.” He described the situation as “difficult” but “stable and under control” in this area where the fighting is taking place. Especially with the aim of controlling the town of Vovchansk, which was divided into two parts.
For his part, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he visited Kharkiv yesterday to hold meetings on “the defense of the region, especially the town of Vovchansk.”
Ukraine still lacks air defense means, and is demanding that the Europeans and Americans allow it to use the weapons they provided to it to strike Russian army bases on Russian territory, which Western countries have so far refused for fear of escalation.
Zelensky intensified his statements that put pressure on his allies to obtain air defense systems and allow him to strike military targets in Russia with Western ammunition.
Meanwhile, Moscow forces continue to attack Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine. It was targeted by about 15 missiles the day before yesterday, killing seven people. In the midst of the military developments taking place in the regions of eastern Ukraine, especially in Kharkiv, analytical circles in various Western capitals confirm that military planners in Kiev must realize that the American support package may be the last of this large size, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming presidential elections in the United States. United States, about whether President Joe Biden will remain in the White House, or whether Republican billionaire Donald Trump will return to it.
These circles also rule out the possibility that the Ukrainian army will be able to compensate for the severe shortage in its stock of ammunition, at least until the beginning of next year, in light of the difficulties faced by efforts to pass the recent US military aid package in Congress, as well as the complications surrounding the efforts. Zelensky’s other Western allies, to collect ammunition and missiles from around the world, with the aim of supporting his forces.
In this context, former British diplomat Tim Willacy-Welsey stressed that the Kiev government must work to use its resources in a more effective way to deal with the current political and military realities, which may lead it to refrain from thinking about carrying out any large-scale offensive operations. In the near future.
Willacy-Welsey, who spent about 27 years in the British diplomatic corps, pointed out that military officials in Zelensky’s government should amend their combat plans in the coming period, to take into account the fact that Ukraine is a smaller country with fewer human resources, compared to Russia.
The former diplomat, who currently works as a university professor specializing in war studies at King’s College London in Britain, also stressed that Kiev can also focus on using drones extensively, as happened in the first months of the battles, in addition to making use of cruise missiles. Long range, from models such as “Storm Shadow”.
Willacy-Welsey warned of the consequences of the Ukrainian army engaging in any attempt to “wage an offensive war” against Russian forces, as happened for most of last year, stressing that the priority for these forces now should be to rationalize their use of the ammunition available to them. And work to achieve the best possible results.
In statements published by the Scottish daily newspaper “The Scotsman” on its website, the former British diplomat and current university professor also called on Zelensky’s government to be keen, in the coming period, to “make its own decisions,” without relying entirely on its allies, which he said have Each of them has “its own motives and priorities,” referring to what observers describe as escalating European divisions regarding how to continue providing support to Kiev.
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