The West is concerned about the ongoing “uncertainty” over the future of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF)’s counteroffensive against Russian troops, Misha Glenny, an observer for The Times, believes.
"Nerves are jangling across Europe and the US as Kiev’s international backers wait for evidence that the Ukrainian military can turn the substantial support it has received from NATO into real gains,” he wrote.
Glenny claimed that “in private, Ukrainian officials admit that their armed forces do not have the capacity to restore Kiev’s sovereignty" across all the land that is currently being controlled by Russia.
“The Russian military has used the winter months to dig in across the entire frontline. The impact of such powerful weapons as Britain’s Storm Shadow cruise missiles [that the UK earlier supplied to Kiev as part of the West’s military aid] remains unknown,” the author pointed out.
He underscored that if Russia wins, it “would represent not just a disaster for Ukraine but a massive setback for the West,” and that China, Moscow’s “most important ally, would be strengthened by a Russian victory.”
The remarks came a few days after Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters during the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that Ukraine has failed to reach any strategic objectives amid its ongoing counteroffensive, losing 186 tanks and 418 armored vehicles to date as its losses continue to mount.
According to Putin, “in some places Ukrainian forces managed to reach the first line of defense, in some places not. That's not the question.”
"The question revolves around the fact that they are using their so-called strategic reserves, which consist of several components. The first is meant to be used to break [Russian] defenses, the second to use forces to entrench their foothold over territory. They have not reached their goals at a single section of the front. This is what is important," he emphasized.
Putin added that the UAF’s losses are “indeed very large, even more than ten to one compared to the Russian army. This is a fact. In terms of equipment, losses are mounting daily.”
The Russian president then referred to the German-made Leopard 2 tanks that Western countries earlier delivered to Kiev, also mentioning the US’ F-16 fighter jets, due to be supplied to Ukraine. Putin said that the Leopard 2s “are burning” in the course of Kiev’s counteroffensive, and that the F-16s will burn too.
As for Ukrainian forces, Putin predicted that "soon they will stop using their own equipment" entirely because it's being systematically destroyed. "Everything they're using to do battle, and everything they're using is coming from abroad. One can't fight that way for long," he said.
Last week, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said in a statement that up to 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers and 150 armored vehicles attempted to break through the Russian defense lines in the Zaporozhye direction as part of Kiev’s efforts to kick off a counteroffensive.