Ukraine admits counter-offensive could last for months

Advisor to the Office of the President of Ukraine - Mr. Mikhail Podolyak. Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

According to the advisor to the President of Ukraine, Mikhail Podolyak, Ukraine's counteroffensive is a series of action plans that may or may not succeed.

Furthermore, Russia’s use of glide bombs, which have the advantage of being out of radar range, could force Ukraine to rethink its counterattack plans. In fact, Ukraine has only a small number of medium- and long-range weapons systems to counter air strikes.

Now, Ukraine will have to plan its battles to avoid the onslaught of Russian glide bombs. According to military analyst Justin Crump at Sibylline Intelligence, Ukraine will need a significant number of air defense systems on the front line when it encounters chokepoints, such as rivers, lakes or fortified Russian trenches, where they are vulnerable to air attack.

If Russia gains air superiority, it will mean that Ukrainian troop concentrations, command and control centers, and logistics centers will be vulnerable to attack. Therefore, Ukraine will have to increase its high-mobility combat capabilities to deal with the air risks from Russian forces.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Ukraine has received from the West all the weapons it needs to succeed in its counter-offensive campaign; and affirmed that Kiev is ready for it. According to the US Secretary of State, not only weapons, but also training plans and counter-offensive plans have been completed.

Mr. Blinken noted that there is no reason to cut aid to Ukraine, because Washington's support for Kiev and the solution to problems within the United States are closely linked.

Therefore, Mr. Blinken believes that the situation in the US is not as if the country is facing an "yes or no" choice. Instead, the way the US solves problems in different regions of the world and internal problems at home are directly linked, reinforcing each other.