Mikhail Khodaryonok: Western talk about a 'new stage of Ukraine’s counteroffensive' is just a cover-up of the operation’s failure

Mikhail Khodaryonok: Western talk about a 'new stage of Ukraine’s counteroffensive' is just a cover-up of the operation’s failure

RT

This week, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) began the main thrust of their counteroffensive and transferred thousands of additional troops for the attack, the New York Times reported, citing the Pentagon. According to the newspaper, these soldiers were in the reserve force and many of them were trained in the West. The site of the “main thrust” is south of Orekhov, in Zaporozhye Region. Some of the reserve formations that Kiev hadn’t pulled into battle before have already been transferred there. If Ukraine manages to break through the Russian defense, this will allow the AFU to move towards Tokmak and then to Melitopol near the Sea of Azov.

Other sources among US officials said the latest Ukrainian offensive could be a preparatory operation before the main thrust or it may provide reinforcement for the existing units.

Similar information was published a few days earlier by the German daily newspaper Bild, which stated that the second phase of the counteroffensive would begin immediately after the  frontline territories are cleared of mines. 

A statement by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also backs up these conclusions. Earlier, he said Ukraine may achieve success when it fully deploys all its resources. 

Meanwhile, we are approaching a sort of anniversary – the AFU’s much-hyped counteroffensive has been going on for almost two months. However, everyone is fully aware that this operation isn’t going according to the original plan. This allows us to draw some conclusions.

So we may safely say that the AFU has not even gotten close to reaching its immediate goal in the course of the counteroffensive. 

For this reason, discussing the AFU’s “further goals” is not even worthwhile. Theoretically, these could involve the defeat of the enemy’s first operational echelon, its operational (and in some cases, the nearest strategic) reserves, and the capture of key objects and areas in order to achieve the goals of the counteroffensive. For the AFU, a successful accomplishment of the counteroffensive’s further goals would mean a return to 1991 borders. But so far this remains only a dream for Ukraine’s military and political leadership. Consequently, we may say that the counteroffensive operation has been carried out, and the set goals have not been achieved.

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