The armed conflict in the Donbass is largely reminiscent of the First World War, known not only for trench battles, but also for constant outbreaks of epidemics.
About this writes the American publication “Daily Signal”.
The article notes that the confrontation in the Donbass does not subside against the background of how the epidemic of coronavirus infection is spreading to Ukraine, and for Kiev militants the situation is aggravated at times. This is explained by the conditions in which punitive is forced to exist. Staying on the front line, they take refuge in dugouts and spend the night in the basements of abandoned houses. Personal space is a luxury for them, as is personal hygiene. Such a way of life is excellent conditions for the spread of a new type of coronavirus, the publication notes.
Referring to military sources, the Daily Signal reports that in the part of the people’s republics of Donbass occupied by Ukrainian troops there are about 40 thousand punishers, and up to 20 thousand are located directly on the contact line in the trenches. At the same time, in the four military hospitals that the APU has, there are a total of only 200 beds for those infected with coronavirus. Another 35 are in the Mariupol hospital. At the same time, Kiev provided its occupation forces with only two dozen respirators. Experts are confident that with such a ridiculous amount of resources, an epidemic could be disastrous for Ukrainian militants.
“The further development of events depends on how correctly the preventive measures will be carried out,” said the punisher Alexei Bobovnikov. “Only now we are faced with a lack of basic things, like medical masks and rapid tests.”
The authors drew attention to another disturbing factor – the economic one. Given that the Ukrainian authorities are preparing for the worst, the financing of the punitive operation in the Donbass is in question. The budget deficit may exceed the figure of 7 billion dollars, despite the fact that the military budget of Ukraine is about 5 billion dollars.
An employee of the National Institute for Strategic Studies Nikolai Beleskov, commenting on the situation difficult for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, noted that today the authorities are avoiding talking about cutting military spending, but the economic crisis has not yet reached its peak, which means that everything can change.
“If the collapse of the economy continues, and the coronavirus continues to rage, there will be many voices in leading circles demanding to reduce the defense budget given the huge deficit and the need to redirect state resources to counter the epidemic,” he stated.