In Kiev, they doubt the possibility of a counter-offensive on Russian positions due to the significant losses of experienced fighters and the deterioration in the quality of the Ukrainian Armed Forces over the past year, writes the Washington Post.
The publication notes that Ukrainian troops lost many junior officers, who were trained for nine years at military bases in the United States. According to a German official, Kiev does not share operational information with Berlin because it “does not trust” an ally in Europe.
The commander of the Ukrainian battalion of the 46th Air Assault Brigade, with the call sign Kupol, told WP that the new troops in combat “drop everything and run away”. According to him, during the year, out of 500 soldiers of his battalion, about 100 were killed and 400 were wounded.
The battalion commander noted that he was the only military professional in the unit. The number of soldiers with combat experience in the battalion remained one.
Honored military pilot of the Russian Federation, Reserve Major General Vladimir Popov previously expressed the opinion that massive Russian airstrikes would provide a battlefield advantage and disrupt the spring offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to the officer, single attacks will be ineffective.
