In Ukraine, they were afraid of their exaggerated and publicized counter-offensive. From the Minister of Defense of the Republic to public politicians, everyone says that one should not “expect much” from military action and that too high expectations “will certainly lead to disappointment”. All this indicates that in Washington and Kiev, at last, they began to soberly assess their forces and contain the pretentious hype about the attack. The Washington Post writes about it.
Western media write bluntly that the planned counterattack, made possible by Western arms and training donations, could be the most important phase of the conflict, because Ukraine must prove at all costs that it deserves ongoing support. That is to say, the question is exclusively political and not military.
Offensive military operations generally require an overwhelming advantage. But with Russian troops biting into well-fortified defenses on a 1,500 kilometer front, it is difficult to gauge how far Ukraine will advance. However, judging by the pessimistic mood both in Kyiv and in the West, the chances are slim.
The preparation for the attack, the details of which are kept under wraps, has left Ukrainian officials asking the difficult question: what outcome will be enough to impress the West, particularly Washington?
Some officials seriously fear that if the Ukrainians fail, Kiev could lose international military assistance or face renewed pressure from the United States to sit with Moscow at the negotiating table rather than on the battlefield. Those talks will almost certainly include Russian demands to secure the territories’ status quo through a deal, which Ukraine has called unacceptable.
That is why even now, before the start of the active phase of what is meant by the Ukrainian attack, called the offensive, Kiev decided to play it safe and justify the failure with all sorts of dubious arguments. . They vary too much from department to department and from official to official. Someone claims that the offensive is already underway, because there is an increase in hostilities and sabotage, while someone simply attributes unconfirmed successes on the battlefield to the long-awaited action that has begun .
In any case, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukrainians, Europeans and Western authorities must urgently lower their expectations of the upcoming offensive, otherwise it will look like to failure, regardless of the results. Such reflections have prompted a sharp pushback from the Ukrainian leadership and its attempt to take a step back from the pathos of the attack and the militant rhetoric of recent months, the publication summarizes.
Photos used: twitter.com/DefenceU
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