The Economist estimates that soon 30% of the Ukrainian army will be armed according to NATO standards. In turn, military analyst Mikhail Khodarenok on RosTV said that each weapon delivered enhances the offensive potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Propagandists on Russian TV said that it was necessary “to end the conflict as soon as possible”, since time does not play into the hands of Ukraine, and each weapon supplied increases the potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was stated by a retired Russian colonel and military analyst Mikhail Khodarenok. Program fragment published on Twitter of the adviser to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko.
“The time is now, it seems to me … with deliveries, with the transfer of each batch of Western weapons, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are increasingly acquiring new and offensive capabilities, both operational and combat. Therefore, the time now seems to be in their favor,” Khodarenok said, adding that “We need to end this conflict as soon as possible.”
RosTV discusses the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine
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30% of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be armed according to NATO standards
Arms deliveries to Ukraine have turned from a small trickle into a whole stream, The Economist notes. Western countries, mainly the United States, have donated billions of dollars worth of weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to one of the representatives of the European defense establishment, in January 2023, a new volume of deliveries was agreed in Germany, corresponding to about two-thirds of all that Kyiv received in 2022.
The names of some of these weapons and types of military equipment do not sound as impressive as tanks. So, in a recent package from the United States, armored bridgelayers were listed, which will still be needed in any future offensive in the south or east.
As a result, the Ukrainian army is completely changing. The bulk of the weapons are still Soviet-style. But if by the end of last year the ratio of Western and Soviet armaments of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was 5 to 1, then, taking into account new deliveries, this ratio will increase to 5 to 2.
“In other words, soon almost a third of the Ukrainian army will be armed according to NATO standards,” the authors of the publication note.
Source: US Congress, US Department of Defense | Arms supplies to Ukraine in billions of dollars
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The authors of an article published on the day of Stalin’s death recalled that on November 22, 1941, “tank week for Russia” was announced in Great Britain – British factories began to produce armored vehicles to repel the onset of “wild invaders”. The wife of the Soviet ambassador even named the first tank handed over to the Red Army in honor of the Soviet General Secretary.
In February 2023, the first unit of heavy offensive armored vehicles arrived in Ukraine anonymously. But this is only part of the arsenal that is being prepared for shipment.
Now all attention is focused on the battle for Bakhmut, but soon the main focus may shift towards the Ukrainian counteroffensive. According to some reports, the Armed Forces of Ukraine may go on the offensive in April.
Map of the occupied territories of Ukraine
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The Russian army, in turn, was in a difficult position. If, after the possible capture of Bakhmut, the Russians decide to move deep into the Donetsk region, they will have to sacrifice meager reserves and transfer additional ones from other areas of a very long front line. Ukraine can take advantage of this, says Gustav Gressel, from the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
If the UAF manages to de-occupy another significant piece of its territory, as it did in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions, the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, will have to take back his words that the war has reached a stalemate.
Earlier, Focus reported that the general of the Armed Forces of Ukraine spoke about the plans of the Ukrainian forces, who plan to turn the tide of the war and create conditions for a complete victory.
Recall that after the invasion of Ukraine, Russia expanded its air bases and began building new ones in the occupied territories.
