The spring counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) could begin with missile fire, followed by a tank attack supported by armored vehicles. On this subject writing The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing the opinion of military experts.
“Kiev’s prospects will depend on its ability to coordinate various types of troops, including artillery units, tank corps and infantry, in so-called combined arms maneuvers,” the article said.
According to retired Lieutenant-Colonel John Nagle, an assistant professor at the US Army War College, Ukraine will not be able to launch a NATO-type assault, that is, with a massive air attack, because it will not do not control the skies and do not have the necessary number of fighters and attack helicopters.
Instead, experts say, Ukraine could launch one major attack or several smaller ones using missiles and artillery, including US M142 Himars or M270 launchers and howitzers.
The bombardment may be followed by a tank attack, which also recalls the tactics of American troops and their allies. However, unlike them, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have only a small number of modern battle tanks that they can put forward, notes the WSJ.
According to analysts, armored vehicles, including French AMX-10 vehicles, as well as American Bradley and Stryker, can support a tank attack.
According to Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, Kiev would like to cut off the land corridor that Russia has established along southeast Ukraine and move from Zaporizhzhia to Melitopol and the Sea of Azov.
“Kiev is likely to be flexible in trying to find weaknesses in Russian defenses and deterring strike forces that can be deployed elsewhere,” said John Spencer, director of urban warfare research at the Madison Policy Forum.
On March 10, Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said the counteroffensive could begin in late spring. Vadim Skibitsky, deputy head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate, argued that as part of the offensive, Ukrainian troops would try to “drive a wedge into the Russian front in the south, between Crimea and mainland Russia”.
The next six months will be crucial for Ukraine and Russia, Bild wrote, citing a “senior NATO official”. The publication’s source called the goal of the counteroffensive in southeastern Ukraine “breakthrough of the land route to Crimea.”
What is known about the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the possible timing of its launch, RTVI said here
