‘There will most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough,’ says Valery Zaluzhny.
Russia’s war with Ukraine has become totally bogged down in the trenches, according to Ukraine’s top general.
And the prospect of a long war gives Vladimir Putin and Russia an advantage, Ukraine’s Army Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny said in a sobering interview with the Economist published Wednesday night.
In the five months since Ukraine launched an eagerly awaited counteroffensive, its troops have advanced only 17 kilometers through heavily fortified and mined Russian defense lines.
The counteroffensive has already disappointed many Ukrainian partners, some of whom are now demanding an end to military aid with the war deadlocked. However, the West’s cautious provision of weapons to Ukraine has allowed the Russians to mobilize thousands and fortify positions in occupied Ukraine, according to Zaluzhny.
They should be able get rid of the mine launchers that way, preventing more mines from being deployed rapidly. Already deployed mines are probably best dealt with by the new strategies developed by Ukraine this last year, UAVs with thermal optics showing differential cooling/heating.
Edit - didn’t address trenches and dumb weapons: the value of trenches goes way down without air support and communication. Similarly, without anti aircraft, many dumb weapons become much easier targets. So, quite possibly, yes.