Ukrainian Official Admits That Ukraine Doesn’t Have the Resources to Mount a Counteroffensive
Jose Nino
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A senior Ukrainian government official told The Washington Post that Ukraine doesn’t possess sufficient resources to carry out a major counteroffensive in the upcoming coming months. The official called attention to how Ukraine is lacking in skilled fighters, ammunition supplies, and other equipment.
“If you have more resources, you more actively attack,” the official observed. The official corresponded with the Washington Post under condition of anonymity. “If you have fewer resources, you defend more. We’re going to defend. That’s why if you ask me personally, I don’t believe in a big counteroffensive for us. I’d like to believe in it, but I’m looking at the resources and asking, ‘With what?’ Maybe we’ll have some localized breakthroughs.”
The official stated Ukraine doesn’t possess “the people or weapons” to pull off a counteroffensive. “And you know the ratio: When you’re on the offensive, you lose twice or three times as many people. We can’t afford to lose that many people,” the official stated.
The Washington Post also got in touch with a Ukrainian battalion commander by the name of Kupol. This battalion commander revealed some uncomfortable truths about the dire situation on the battlefield. Kupol observed that his battalion previously pulled out from the town of Soledar, located close to the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. The Russians took control of Soledar in January.
Kupol’s battalion, made up of 500 troops, witnessed the killing of 100 troops, with nearly 400 being wounded. Now the Ukrainian government is sending him inexperienced soldiers who have very little training. “I get 100 new soldiers,” Kupol noted. “They don’t give me any time to prepare them. They say, ‘Take them into the battle.’ They just drop everything and run. That’s it.”
“Do you understand why? Because the soldier doesn’t shoot. I ask him why, and he says, ‘I’m afraid of the sound of the shot,’” he continued. According to the Washington Post report, Ukraine deployed an alarming number of conscripted forces to replace more experienced soldiers who have suffered casualties.
Kupol also claimed that Ukrainian forces are fighting with very little ammunition. “You’re on the front line,” he stated. “They’re coming toward you, and there’s nothing to shoot with.”
Dave Decamp of Antiwar.com noted that Ukraine has suffered heavy losses in trying to hold its position in Bakhmut, but it has largely kept its casualty figures under wraps. According to one German official, Ukraine has suffered over 100,000 casualties.
Overall, Ukraine is taking massive losses, while the Collective West is spending vast economic and military resources to basically prop it up as a sacrificial lamb against Russia. If the West actually cared about saving lives, it would do everything possible to find a negotiated settlement to this conflict. Ultimately, no one wins from a protracted NATO vs. Russia proxy war.
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