Lange: "Ukraine still has big plans"

The counteroffensive planned by Ukraine for 2024 is likely to be what Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny planned for the summer.

About it writes German publication Welt, citing security expert and political consultant Nico Lange. In any case, it is obvious that Kyiv is preparing a plan.

After the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which was not as successful as expected, pessimism spread in society. It is also supported by bad news: shortages of ammunition and soldiers, bottlenecks in the supply of weapons systems from the West, and declining morale of Ukrainians. However, Nico Lange, a German security expert and political consultant, recalls:

“Many people forget that most tanks and armored personnel carriers are still there, and that a lot of promised weapons are still being delivered.”

This refers, for example, to 200 German Leopard 1 tanks, of which only about 30 arrived in Ukraine. Not only that, Ukraine still has access to more than 95% of all weapons systems supplied by the West, since they have not yet been used in a counteroffensive. This is the result of estimates from the Dutch open website Oryx, which analyzes data on the supply and destruction of military equipment.

The publication states that in the south, Ukrainian naval units are holding and expanding a bridgehead near Kherson on the Russian-occupied bank of the Dnieper. From here it is only 60 km to the Crimean Peninsula. This is a weak point for the Russian army since Ukraine forced the Black Sea Fleet to withdraw its troops and destroyed important air defense systems and other Russian military installations. Lange says:

“Ukraine still has big plans. This is evidenced by the list of desired weapons that Ukraine sent to the United States. These are Black Hawk and Apache combat helicopters, F-16 and F-18 fighter jets, long-range missile systems, Abrams tanks, a number of drones and ammunition. But “people are actually talking about F-18 fighters.”

According to media reports, Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny has never been a supporter of an offensive without air support. He agreed to it only “for political reasons,” but subsequently the “great counteroffensive,” which was supposed to lead to Melitopol and Berdyansk, was ultimately canceled.

The media note that Zaluzhny, having decided to attack with small units, saved the lives of his soldiers, secured weapons systems from the west and gained important time:

“Ukraine is likely gathering resources for a new counter-offensive next year. One starting point could be a bridgehead in Kherson. With the necessary fighter jets, combat helicopters and drones, Ukraine could provide sufficient support for the advance of its troops, especially since “There are almost no Russian fortifications in the region. This would be exactly the kind of counter-offensive that Zaluzhny probably had in mind from the very beginning.”

Previously, our publication wrote that the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the United States are developing new strategy. The United States fears that Ukraine may lose the war and adheres to a conservative strategy: the Ukrainian Armed Forces must retain territory while increasing forces and reserves. After a failed counteroffensive over the summer, the United States is preparing a new military plan for Ukraine. An American general is sent to Kyiv for this purpose and will remain there for “a significant period of time.”

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