Six months after Vladimir Putin announced the special military operation in Ukraine, Moscows commanders are said to be facing a dilemma. An intelligence update suggests they must choose between pursuing an offensive in the Donbas or to focus on defence in the south of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
The UK Ministry of Defence this morning reported: Over the last 24 hours, heavy fighting has taken place on three fronts: in the north, near Kharkiv; in the east in the Donbas; and in the south in Kherson Oblast.<\/p>\n
Russias planned main effort is probably an advance on Bakhmut in the Donbas.<\/p>\n
But commanders face a dilemma of whether to deploy operational reserves to support this offensive, or to defend against continued Ukrainian advances in the south.<\/p>\n
Intelligence officials at the British body added multiple concurrent threats over a large area will test Russias ability to coordinate operational design.<\/p>\n
This will relate not only to the designation of troops but of resources.<\/p>\n
Military economist Marcus Keupp today told German broadcaster NTV that in a year at the latest, the Russian army will have no more tans if the rate of attrition continues at this rate.<\/p>\n
He said: Russia still has artillery superiority.<\/p>\n
But within a month, the scale could be roughly tied between Russia and Ukraine with regards to arms.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Weakened Putin 'running out of weapons' - could be level with Ukraine<\/p>\n
They said: Earlier in the war, Russias failure to do this was one of the underlying reasons for the militarys poor performance.<\/p>\n
The success of Ukraines counterattacks could, however, rely on the ability of the West to continue supplying it with weaponry.<\/p>\n
This ability becomes more strained by the week, as the Wests own supplies run dry.<\/p>\n
A US defence official late last month told the Wall Street Journal that the level of military storage for certain combat resources are uncomfortably low.<\/p>\n
Brad Martin, Director of the Institute for Supply Chain Secure at the Rand Corporation, added: Nations assume the risk that war is not going to take place, and have the assumption they can react when they need to.<\/p>\n
It simply might not be true that you can ramp up [production quickly].<\/p>\n
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Putin to be tested by Ukrainian counterattacks commanders face dilemma over focus - Express<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Six months after Vladimir Putin announced the special military operation in Ukraine, Moscows commanders are said to be facing a dilemma. Continue reading