NATO officer: Ukraine is losing ground, suffering counterattack from Russia
(Baonghean.vn) - NATO officers assess that the counterattack of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has not yet achieved significant results, and is even losing to Russia. Although Ukraine is actually organizing the counterattack campaign, in some areas, Russia is counterattacking.
Stavros Atlamazoglou, a retired NATO officer and now a defense and national security journalist, in an analysis published on 19FortyFive, commented: The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counterattack has so far been fruitless. Soldiers are desperately trying to break through Russian defense lines, encountering vast, modern, and sturdy minefields and fortifications.
The former NATO officer said that although Ukraine is the one conducting a large-scale counter-offensive, it is losing ground, and Russia is counter-attacking in some places, especially in eastern Ukraine. In the direction of Svatovo - Kremennaya, the Russian army is gradually moving west, despite the rugged forest terrain.
Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to concentrate its forces in the Bakhmut area, moving large numbers of troops and weapons systems there, in an attempt to erase Russia's previous successes.
"Here, Russian forces may be thin, but so far they are maintaining their defense. Further south in the Donetsk region, especially in the Adiivka area, Ukrainian forces have not given up their efforts at local attacks, but to no avail," former NATO officer Stavros Atlamazoglou said, citing the latest assessment by British military intelligence of the conflict.
According to Stavros Atlamazoglou, the southern front remains one of the most important for both armies. A breakthrough in the offensive would allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to reach Crimea, and possibly take control of the Kerch bridge. However, achieving this would certainly be at the cost of a very fierce battle.
In addition, the Ukrainian counter-offensive is taking place in two directions: Zaporozhye and Kherson. In Zaporozhye, the Ukrainian army is attacking from the north and has achieved some minor successes. However, the Russian army continues to hold the defensive line.
According to the former NATO officer, in Kherson, the Ukrainian army has temporarily captured a number of small positions on the left bank of the Dnieper River. Currently, Ukraine does not deploy many forces in this area, but they can still pose a big enough threat to make Russian commanders "not sleep well at night".
On the other hand, extensive minefields and fortifications continue to be the main obstacles slowing down the Ukrainian army's progress.
