American aid is just beginning to reach the front lines, he said, while Russia’s authoritarian President Vladimir Putin’s generals are throwing all their combat equipment at their disposal to test Ukraine’s exhausted and under-equipped troops.
“Russia knows that if we get enough weapons in a month or two, the situation can turn against them,” the general emphasized.
Reuters/Scanpix/Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander Oleksandrs Pavliuk
O. Pavliukas pointed out that Ukraine urgently needs air defense systems. According to him, the planned delivery of Western F-16 fighter jets in the summer should provide a great psychological boost and encourage the military spirit of the fighters.
But it remains unclear whether Ukraine will receive the newer versions of the F-16s it needs to challenge Russian bombers. These bombers remain at a distance, outside the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense zone, and drop 130 heavy guided bombs a day on frontline positions.
The ground forces commander estimated that Russia would continue to focus on Luhansk and Donetsk, the eastern districts that have been hit hardest by the war. However, intelligence indicates that Russian forces will soon expand their operations and attack the northeastern regions of Kharkiv and Sumy.
“Russia is checking the stability of our lines before choosing the most appropriate direction,” the general said.
After Ukraine lost Ocheretyne, Russia could break through the first line of defense and threaten vital supply routes, The Economist writes.
However, O. Pavliukas refused to comment on reports that the loss of positions was caused by a misunderstanding. He explained the situation as “crazy” pressure, “overwhelming [Rusijos] air superiority’ and artillery ratio that reached 20:1. Along the entire front, the Russian cannons fire seven times more shells than the Ukrainians.
Ukraine still holds Chasiv Yar, a strategic high point five kilometers west of Bakhmut. Although Chasiv Yar is said to be the key to a cluster of cities and towns beyond, the last Donbas urban centers still in Ukrainian hands, the general appears to be preparing public opinion for what some military experts say is inevitable.
AP/Scanpix/The aftermath of Russian shelling in Chasiv Yar
He argues that the loss of Chasiv Yar would not have “decisive significance” because it is just an “ordinary settlement”.
One of the general’s most urgent tasks is to assemble ten new brigades in preparation for the Russian offensive. Although there have been concerns about people since December, when the mobilization largely stopped, O. Pavliukas insisted that the main obstacle is equipment, not people.
“Part of these new forces will be deployed to protect the capital. Two and a half years after the Russian army was tripped up, it has not given up its ambition to finally capture the city,” revealed the commander of the Ground Forces.
“The defense of Kyiv remains one of our main concerns, no matter how difficult things are in the east. It is the heart of Ukraine, and we know what an important role the defense of the capital will play in the future,” he said.
March. The German publication “Die Welt” also wrote about the possible beginning of a critical phase of the war between Russia and Ukraine. It was predicted that it could start by September.
