Reuters reported that the Ukrainian military launched a large-scale military operation centered on Zaporizhia in the south on the 26th (local time). The ‘Spring Counterattack’, which was evaluated as the biggest watershed of the war, has not produced any clear results for the 7th week even with Western support on its back.
Analysts say that if the stalemate is prolonged, US President Joe Biden, who insisted on additional large-scale military support, could fall into an embarrassing situation.
Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Hannah Malyaar, said on the day that a “gradual advance” was under way along the Melitopol and Verdansk fronts, which were occupied by Russian troops in Zaporizhzhia. Some of the 63,000 reserve troops trained with Western help and more than 100 modern tanks, including German-made Leopard tanks, were deployed to the southern front.
The New York Times ( NYT ), citing multiple Pentagon officials, said the operation would last one to three weeks.
A Ukrainian government official who requested anonymity told The Washington Post ( WP ) that “the goal of this operation is to reach the Sea of Azou and cut off the Crimean land bridge, a key supply route for the Russian army . “
“It will soon become clear whether Ukraine will be able to change the current dynamic with this attack,” said Michael Kaufman of the Carnegie카지노 Foundation for International Peace, a U.S. think tank that specializes in Russian military affairs.
A White House official told the NYT , “Ukraine’s attack this time could be a preparatory operation for the main attack or a kind of reinforcement operation to straighten out the lines of exhausted troops.”
Russia said it had thwarted the attack. Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman Igor Konashenko said, “Three battalions of the Ukrainian army, reinforced with tanks, launched a large-scale attack in the villages of Orihiu and Robotine in Zaporizhzhya, but all were repelled.”
He also explained specific achievements, saying that he destroyed 22 tanks, 10 combat vehicles, and 1 armored vehicle, and killed about 100 enemy soldiers.
It seems clear that Ukrainian forces attempting to break through Russian defenses will struggle. Russia has built dense defensive positions, including minefields, trenches, and bunkers, over hundreds of kilometers around the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
However, the John Kirby National Security Council ( NSC)) said the Strategic Communications Coordinator said, “The counterattack did not go fast enough, but it was not a stalemate.”
If the long-term battle continues, it could put great pressure on President Biden, who is about to challenge for re-election next year. The offensive against Ukraine, centering on the Republican Party, is intensifying. If the counterattack does not meet expectations, there is a high possibility that the military supplies supported by the West will reach their limit and public opinion in the United States on additional aid will deteriorate.
The Wall Street Journal ( WSJ ) said, “The Biden administration tried to negotiate an end to the war with the Russian government in an advantageous position thanks to the success of the Ukrainian counterattack,” and analyzed that “the offensive was delayed and President Biden’s political position became unstable.”