Ukraine’s pressure to reclaim this city could make or break the war, #Ukraine #Push #City #Break #War Welcome to OLASMEDIA TV NEWSThis is what we have for you today:
The war in Ukraine could break into a new phase in the coming days as Ukrainian forces gear up to launch a counter-offensive against Kherson, a key city Russian forces have occupied since the early days of the war.
Ukrainian troops have been preparing for weeks for an attack on Kherson, a major city in the south, close to Russian strongholds. The counteroffensive “gaining momentum,” according to an analysis by British intelligence released Thursday.
But some US officials and lawmakers are hesitant to say that Ukraine’s armed forces are guaranteed a victory if they go all-in now.
Ukrainian troops have been preparing for a counter-offensive for some time. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week said his troops had moved “step by step” towards Kherson. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk urged citizens to evacuate the region to avoid the offensive earlier this month.
And an adviser to the Kherson government, Serhiy Khlan, has suggested that: Kherson will certainly be released in September. The strategically important city is just a few hours’ drive from the Crimean peninsula that was occupied by Russia in 2014.
A woman living in a village on the border of Mykolaiv and Kherson Oblast greets a Ukrainian military member on July 25, 2022.
Chernichkin/Zaborona/Global Images Ukraine via Getty
Creating a Russian stranglehold in the south of the country and destroying the Ukrainian economy by cutting off access to the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov was a key goal of Putin’s invasion. That twisted dream would be all but destroyed if Ukraine can recapture Kherson. But Ukraine’s success could depend on Western relief supplies, which Ukrainian officials say can’t come soon enough — and failure in Kherson would be a devastating loss to Ukraine.
But anticipating our skis wouldn’t be appropriate prior to the attack — there’s still so much to see on the battlefield, Rep. warned. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA).
“There is always a fog of war,” Auchincloss, who previously commanded infantry in Afghanistan, told The Daily Beast. “You can never predict what will happen after the first contact.”
There are many concerns about whether Ukrainian forces are prepared enough to deal with the Russians in Kherson.
Ukrainian officials have said they are processing between 5,000 and 6,000 artillery ammunition every day. Keeping track of that burn rate will change once the counteroffensive starts, and Ukraine may need three or four times thataccording to The New York Times.
Ukraine’s supplies and preparation of offensive weapons will be key to their ability to take back Kherson as well. But the current preparation may not be enough, according to some lawmakers. With the Ukrainians in mind for a counter-offensive, the Biden administration should step up its efforts to deliver more High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and provide air support, such as fighter jets, to Ukraine that could be crucial in achieving this. of a win, warned Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA).
“The United States and our NATO allies and other democracies have been very supportive of the Ukrainian people — and I believe we need to offer more,” Lieu, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Daily Beast. “If we can give Ukraine additional advanced weapons, such as advanced aircraft, and try to increase Ukraine’s air force, I think that will be hugely helpful for Ukraine.”
Lieu said he continues to urge the government to honor promises to consider sending fighter jets to Ukraine.
“Hopefully they can do that sooner rather than later,” Lieu said, referring to the Biden administration.
Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, indicated that he monitors the morale of Ukrainian combatants and suggested that morale is in good shape.
“Morale remains high,” Swalwell said. “That’s the most important factor.”
Valodya, a 49-year-old man, volunteers as a cook for Ukrainian soldiers in Kherson, Kherson Oblast, Ukraine.
Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty
But Ukraine’s Defense Minister, Oleksi Reznikov, has discussed the need to raising a million-strong army to take back southern territory that Russian troops have taken.
And the Ukrainian leadership openly admits that they still need more help to properly support their attack plans. Ukrainian political leaders have in recent days urged the United States military outpost in Germany to deliver more equipment more quickly, it said. The New York Times.
The US Department of Defense says it is working to meet demand as Ukrainians need more reinforcements to attack Russians on Ukrainian soil.
“We understand the urgency and we are doing everything we can to maintain and intensify the momentum of donations,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said last week.
Still, Russia appears to be bolstering its defenses in what appears to be a shift in strategy. In recent hours, amid warnings that Ukraine is preparing an offensive, Russia is already redeploying troops to defend the south, according to Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
However, there are some indications that Russia is at risk, at least for now. Russia has not made any major gains since the capture of Lysychansk earlier this month. According to British intelligence analysis, Russian forces in Kherson are “virtually cut off” from other Russian-occupied territories.
Just Wednesday, Ukrainian troops used US-supplied HIMARS to bomb Antonivskyi Bridgean important bridge over the Dnipr River near Kherson, which has been crucial to Russia’s supply routes, said Kirill Stremousov, the Russian government’s deputy head of the Kherson region.
And Russia, as in the early days of the war, is not doing well in terms of supplying the war in Ukraine, according to John Kirby, a White House National Security Council coordinator.
“His own defense industrial base is having a hard time keeping up with its unprovoked war in Ukraine,” Kirby told reporters last week.
An armored truck belonging to pro-Russian forces is parked near Ukraine’s former regional council building in Kherson.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuter
And while concerns remain that Russia is willing to continue the fight, the Russian military appears unwilling to maintain the training and equipment needed for decisive victories, said Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).
“Russia can probably mobilize men, but they can’t mobilize well-trained men and well-equipped men,” Gallego, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told The Daily Beast. “That puts Ukraine in a better position. I think the military is now probably equal or even better when it comes down to it [to] their training with Russia.”
Assessments by US intelligence agencies show that Russia’s armed forces have been significantly depleted since the start of the war. While General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine estimates put Russian troop losses at about 40,000, US intelligence has estimated Putin’s troop losses at nearly 75,000 since the war broke out in February, according to the report. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (DMI)a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
And MI6 chief, Richard Moore, said at the Aspen security conference last week that British intelligence believes Russia will grow tired in the coming weeks due to manpower shortages.
All the hurdles the Russian military now faces, coupled with significant arms and intelligence support from the United States — which has so far helped Ukrainian forces target precisely Russian ammunition depots and other targets — could lay the groundwork for a difficult but successful fight ahead for the Ukrainians.
“I am confident that we will provide them with the weapons and intelligence support they need to precisely target Russia’s command and control and ammunition hubs,” Auchincloss said.