For the future counteroffensive, Ukraine received an arsenal of weapons worth more than $30 billion. Military equipment, which has been handed over to the Ukrainian Defense Forces since December, costs more than any NATO member except the United States spends in a year. But it is not yet known whether this will be enough.
Bloomberg writes about it.
In order to succeed, the newspaper notes, Ukraine will need to conduct a complex operation without air superiority. For this, it is necessary to coordinate infantry, armored vehicles, sappers and anti-aircraft defense in order to maximize the effect of more than 200 tanks, 300 infantry fighting vehicles and other weapons that Ukraine has received since December 2022.
At the same time, Ukrainian commanders have repeatedly called for an increase in the number of weapons, in particular air defense and long-range missiles.
“No army ever believes that it is well equipped to do what is required of it. Thatʼs the nature of the military," says former US Marine Corps colonel Mark Kankian. He currently advises the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
According to military analysts, Ukraineʼs future on the battlefield will depend on factors that go far beyond equipment — training, intelligence, and the ability to overcome Russian air superiority.
Bloomberg analysts believe that the counteroffensive is likely to focus on southern Ukraine. In order to break through the echeloned Russian defenses, you will need special engineering equipment for demining, covering trenches and demolishing bunkers, which the allies have already sent. The West also handed Ukraine hundreds of trucks and transporters, which are necessary for the rapid movement of heavy armored vehicles to positions.
Whether Russia has enough troops to complete the defense of the temporarily occupied southern part of Ukraine is currently unknown. If the occupiers in the south are not enough, they will have to guess where the Ukrainians will strike, which will allow Kyiv to surprise the Russians and outflank them.
- Western media continue to discuss the upcoming Ukrainian counteroffensive. Representatives of the Ukrainian authorities are constantly asked about this. The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky informed that the country needs more time to launch a counteroffensive — the military is waiting for the delivery of the promised military aid. The Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov noted that the expectations of Ukrainians and the world regarding the counteroffensive are "somewhat overheated." However, he assured that everyone will know about its beginning immediately. And the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense Kyrylo Budanov explained that the Russians almost do not launch massive missile strikes on Ukraine in order to accumulate missiles to repel the Ukrainian attack. The New York Times wrote that Ukraine postponed the counteroffensive to May because of bad weather and slow arms deliveries.