The commander of her land army Ukrainian stated in an interview published yesterday Friday that he considers the war against her of Russia will enter a critical phase in the next two months as Moscow tries to take advantage of delays in arms supplies to Kiev.
“Russia knows that if we get enough weapons in a month or two, the situation will turn against them,” General Oleksandr Pavlyuk told The Economist magazine.
US arms deliveries to Kiev have been delayed for months as the aid package promoted by US President Joe Biden has been blocked in Congress due to disagreements between Democrats and Republicans. The bill was finally adopted at the end of April.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday pointed out that his country needs future deliveries of basic weapons to be made “on time”.
Pavlyuk’s interview took place before Russia attacked areas in the northeastern part of Kharkiv province with armored vehicles.
According to Pavlyuk, Moscow will remain focused on its slow advance into Luhansk and Donetsk provinces in the east. He emphasized that Kiev needs more anti-aircraft defense and estimated that it will be strengthened by the imminent delivery of F-16 fighter jets.
As the head of the Ukrainian ground army explained, Russia is “testing the stability of our lines before choosing the most appropriate direction.”
Russian forces have seized several villages in eastern Ukraine after taking control of the town of Avdiivka in February.
Pavlyuk appeared to downplay the potential loss of the city of Chasiv Yar, also in the east, which is seen as critical to Moscow’s ability to control other cities such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
The loss of Chasiv Yar will not “be decisive” as it is “a simple urban settlement”, he estimated.
Pavlyuk also noted that he believes there will be renewed interest in Kiev, where Russian forces retreated shortly after invading Ukraine after initially trying to advance on the capital.
“The defense of Kiev remains one of our main concerns, regardless of how difficult the situation is in the east,” he told the Economist. “It is the heart of Ukraine and we know the key role that the defense of the capital will play in the future,” he stressed.
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