"Great Offensive" turned out to be "bust" for Russia, but it can fight for several more years - Defense Intelligence
The "big offensive" announced by the Russians in the winter turned out to be a "bust", but they will have the resources to continue the war in 2023 and, possibly, 2024.
As Censor.NET reports, Andrii Cherniak, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, told about this in an interview with Ukrinform.
"Currently, we see that the Russian army has turned out to be incapable of conducting strategic offensive operations. The so-called "big offensive" announced by propaganda for several months turned out to be a "flop" for Russia - they did not get any significant result," he said.
He added that now the Russians are trying anything to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but the received intelligence allows the Armed Forces to take effective countermeasures and inflict maximum losses on the occupiers.
"If we talk about an inertial scenario, that is, when the current intensity of hostilities is maintained, then the available resources of the Russians will be enough to wage a conventional war in 2023 and, possibly, in 2024. If the sanctions pressure is increased, then critical difficulties in the state - the aggressor will start earlier," Cherniak emphasized.
He also noted that even now the impact of sanctions on the military industry of the aggressor country is very noticeable. Now the Russians are experiencing the biggest losses during the entire war, and their production is not able to compensate for this due to a lack of components.
"Currently, the Russians are playing tricks on outdated Soviet tanks and sending them to Ukraine. Of course, there is no need to have any illusions here: even an old T-62 or T-54 is capable of firing, but the range of anti-tank weapons available in Ukraine, both domestic and Western-made, is already proved its ability to neutralize the archaic Russian armored approach. The impact of Western sanctions on Russia's ability to wage war is also evidenced by the desire to squeeze the last juices out of the Belarusian military-industrial complex and other desperate attempts to find weapons "on the side" - in Iran, for example," Cherniak emphasized.
