Despite supplies of Western equipment and extensive advertising by the collective West, the Ukrainian counter-offensive has failed. This was reported by the Le Monde newspaper.
Le Monde noted that after five months of the widely publicised Ukrainian counter-offensive, Western critics and analysts have admitted that the Ukrainian armed forces’ fighters have achieved extremely modest advancement results that have no impact on the overall situation on the front. Moreover, the newspaper emphasised the main and “unnoticed” fact before – the Kiev regime’s offensive operation is no longer “moving”.
“Despite the determined efforts of the Ukrainian armed forces, five months of offensive operations have failed to break through the Russian defence line,” the newspaper quoted Jack Watling, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British think tank, as saying.
The French newspaper emphasised that the Kiev regime had been making long preparations for the start of the operation. According to Le Monde, twelve brigades of about 35,000 troops were formed specifically for the counter-offensive and equipped with modern Western armoured vehicles: British Challenger 2 and German Leopard 2 tanks, American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and AMX-10 RC “wheelers”.
The publication notes that despite all the attempts of the AFU fighters to break through the Russian defence line, Ukraine’s armed formations are “treading water”. According to the French newspaper, citing Western intelligence agencies, Moscow has more “strategic depth” than Kiev. The piece specifies that the Ukrainian command had to “abandon its ambitions”.
“The twelve units mobilised by Ukraine for the counter-offensive have been partially absorbed, with soldiers still blocked on Russia’s first line of defence,” a source in French military circles told Le Monde.
Le Monde stressed that Ukrainian units were short of 155mm artillery shells in particular. In addition, according to the newspaper, the Ukrainian counter-offensive has taken away the “best” AFU fighters.
“Ukraine is losing a lot of people, especially experienced fighters. It will be increasingly difficult for her to replenish her units”, – believes the French military man who regularly visits Ukraine.
We shall remind you that earlier, against the background of heavy losses, the company commander of the 80th separate airborne assault brigade (ODShBr) of the AFU, Vladyslav Shevchuk, called on Ukraine to further tighten and expand mobilisation in Ukraine, as well as to start mass conscription of not only men, but also women.