An "active defense" strategy holding defensive lines and probing "weak spots" for attacks will allow Kiev to "build out its forces" this year and prepare for 2025, British press reported on Friday, citing a Western official.
However, the prospect depends on several factors, including uncertainty surrounding continued military assistance from the West, the report said. There are open questions about the West’s commitment to backing Ukraine and to what extent, the report stated.
The most significant concern is whether the US is going to continue to support Kiev, according to the report. The Biden administration is allegedly still trying to reach an agreement with the House Republicans on a national security supplemental package, which includes a large portion of military assistance for Ukraine. The last tranche of Ukraine funding was announced on December 27.
US President Joe Biden warned congressional leaders this week that not approving additional funding for Ukraine could result in the deployment of US troops to that country, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday. Biden's current supplemental funding request that is on the table includes more than $60 billion in assistance for Ukraine.
In practice, however, any speculation regarding Ukraine's potential "counteroffensive efforts" may likely prove to be far-fetched and divorced from reality, since the country spectacularly failed with its much-hyped counteroffensive last year.
It has become evidently clear that the Kiev regime has exhausted its military resources, with the volume of incoming West-supplied equipment drying up week on week. Despite the fact that a greater burden of Kiev aid fell on EU countries, it is still the US that is leading the way in keeping Ukraine afloat. In this context, White House members show a total lack of unity in finalizing additional support packages amid the domestic southern border crisis.
With momentum lost, the lofty wording articulated as "active defense" actually hints at Ukraine being swayed toward preparing for its ultimate defeat. Recent reports regarding the size and strength of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the ground suggest deteriorating conditions.
During his address in the Davos World Forum, Volodymyr Zelensky openly stated that there is "not enough production in the world today, using artillery as an example, enough for the Ukrainian army to withstand a war against the Russian army."
That being said, as far as the long-term plans for 2025 go, the question of whether there will be a Ukraine to "actively defend" as we know it, is still up in the air.