President Volodymyr Zelensky is convinced that Ukraine can win the war that has been going on for almost 2 years with Russia. “In the first 2 weeks of the year we strengthened ourselves”, she says, reeling off news relating to the acquisition of weapons and defense systems. Mosca, however, describes an adversary on his knees, with an army made up of old and sick soldiers.
The war is not only fought on the battlefield, where the situation has been locked in an endless tug-of-war along the line of contact for the past week. The conflict remains very harsh, with huge losses for both countries. In the east, in particular, we fight to advance a few meters or to defend acquired positions. The winter is still long, the conditions for soldiers and vehicles remain prohibitive and strategies must be adapted to the weather and terrain conditions.
For the Ukrainian military leaders, 2024 could prove to be a year of transition. The counteroffensive conducted in 2023 did not produce the desired turnaround. Now, the stalemate – which is officially denied – is almost an obligatory solution for Kiev. We need to regroup while waiting for the United States to decide how to proceed: there is a 61 billion military aid package blocked by the opposition of some Republicans in Congress.
While waiting for good news from Washington, Zelensky continues to weave relationships to obtain weapons and equipment. “The first two weeks of the year have already increased Ukraine's strength and capabilities,” says the president, who will be in Davos today to participate in tomorrow's summit, in one of the messages posted on social media. “There are new packages for our warriors, there are fundamental agreements for the joint production of weapons and ammunition, a particularly important topic is linked to drones. Others will arrive”, he adds.
“We are preparing more positive news on air defense. We continue to deal with missiles and hi-tech instruments. Month after month, we increase artillery production,” he says. The summary is that “Ukraine has sufficient potential to make it on the complicated path of war. We have the potential to win. The key is to believe in ourselves. Believe in Ukraine”.
Moscow: “Ukraine has an old and sick army”
Zelensky's confidence appears unmotivated if the statements coming from Moscow are considered to be well founded. Russia, through the Tass agency, offers a disastrous picture of the Ukrainian army, also referring to the words of a Kiev commander, the battalion commander of the 5th separate assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Alexey Tarasenko. Well, in many areas Ukraine would only have elderly soldiers available – at least over 40 – and to shore up the units, men with health problems would also be sent to the front. In essence, we need to lower the requirements because the situation is an emergency due to the number of deaths and injuries.
Over the course of a week, the Ukrainian armed forces lost around 200 soldiers in Krynki, on the left bank of the Dnieper, according to what the governor of the Kherson region Vladimir Saldo said on his Telegram channel.
Due to the cold climate, the number of cases of illnesses and frostbite among the Ukrainian military in Krynki is said to be increasing: evacuation across the Dnieper is practically impossible, as the waterway is frozen in many places. Many Ukrainian soldiers, according to Saldo, would have been captured and would have physical problems due to serious forms of tissue necrosis.
#Zelensky #Ukraine #wins #Moscow #responds #Kiev #sends #sick #war
