The loss of the Ukrainian side is lower than that of the enemy, according to anonymous sources, but the most experienced fighters are killed or injured on the battlefield.
Some Ukrainian high-ranking officials, on condition of anonymity, expressed their doubts about the success of the spring counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is reported by The Washington Post.
The report says that until recently, the quality of the Ukrainian military force was considered a significant advantage over the RF Armed Forces, but over the past year, both sides have suffered considerable losses, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine have lost some of the most experienced fighters. It is because of this factor that a number of officials are skeptical about the scenario of a successful counteroffensive.
According to American and European experts, since the beginning of a full-scale war, Ukraine has lost up to 120 thousand soldiers (information is unofficial, and data on Ukrainian losses are voiced exclusively by the General Staff), and the Russian Federation at least 200 thousand personnel. This is despite the fact that the enemy has a large army, as well as the population of the Russian Federation is three times larger than that of Ukraine.
The influx of inexperienced conscripts brought in to compensate for losses has changed the profile of Ukrainian forces, the report said. Also on the front line there is a shortage of shells, which affects the quality of the battles.
“The most valuable thing in war is combat experience. A soldier who survived six months of combat and a soldier who came from the training ground are two different soldiers. This is heaven and earth. And there are only a few soldiers with combat experience. Unfortunately, all of them are already dead or wounded,” the battalion commander of the 46th Airborne Assault Brigade with the call sign “Dome” comments on the situation.
The success of the spring counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: what Ukrainian officials say
This led to some pessimism, as journalists write, among the authorities in Kyiv. If the Armed Forces of Ukraine are unable to carry out the declared counter-offensive, then a new portion of criticism is expected from the West for the loss of time with the supply of weapons.
One senior Ukrainian official, on condition of anonymity, said that the number of tanks that will arrive in Ukraine is purely “symbolic”, and they may not arrive before the start of the counteroffensive.
“If you have more resources, you attack more actively. If you have less resources, you defend more. We will defend. That’s why, if you ask me personally, I don’t believe in a big counteroffensive for us. I would like to believe it , but I look at the resources and ask: “With what?” Maybe we will have some localized breakthroughs. We do not have people or weapons. And you know the ratio: when you are on the offensive, you lose two or three times as much people. We can’t afford to lose so many people,” the official said.
Recall that on March 11, the coordinator of the Information Resistance group, Alexander Kovalenko, named three bridgeheads where the Armed Forces of Ukraine could launch a counteroffensive. According to him, each of the bridgeheads has its own advantages and disadvantages. However, which one our military will choose, they know only in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
