Ukraine has adapted to war of attrition and can achieve its goals, - Atlantic
Ukraine is waging a war of attrition. Any hopes that may have emerged after the talks between Trump and Putin have vanished. However, Ukraine can still achieve its military goals.
This is written by Robert F. Worth, a journalist for The Atlantic, as reported by Censor.NET.
"Despite Russia’s demographic advantage, its efforts to envelop Ukraine’s formidable fortress belt—a string of strategic cities and logistics hubs in the country’s northeast—have had little success. Capturing the belt would take several years of hard fighting, given Ukraine’s recent success in damaging Russia’s oil pipelines and rear bases. Putin tacitly acknowledged Russia’s failure by demanding that Ukraine voluntarily cede the entire region in August, an idea that no one took seriously, he noted.
The journalist spoke with Ukrainian officers in north-eastern Ukraine. They told him that the key to keeping Russia at a distance lies in finding better ways to compensate for the shortage of human resources in Ukraine.
"Part of the answer is drone technology, which has done a great deal to help Ukraine protect itself in an uneven fight. But commanders are now taking a range of other measures to minimize casualties, including more careful use of artillery, more precise troop movements, and better rotation plans," Worth added.
"Our main purpose is to not let direct contact happen, so Ukrainian troops don’t have to engage," the journalist quotes one of the Ukrainian commanders.
According to the author of the article, nine months ago, when he was in Ukraine, it seemed that the Defence Forces were in a difficult situation due to delays in weapons deliveries, and the Russians were advancing on the front line with what Ukrainian infantrymen called "meat waves". However, there is now a new confidence that Ukraine is reorienting its institutions for a protracted war, learning quickly on the battlefield and continuing not only to inflict constant losses on the enemy, but also to limit its own.
General Ben Hodges told a journalist that "Russia cannot win unless we in the West totally quit."
Therefore, Worth believes, time, which has until now favored the Russians, may be shifting to the Ukrainian side.
