Previously became knownthat the United States has transferred high-velocity AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles to Ukraine.
New inevitable attack on Kiev
Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army Valery Zaluzhny in an interview with The Economist named Russia’s inevitable new offensive in Kiev. Russia, according to him, is now preparing 200,000 new soldiers for this, gathering equipment and reserves. The Russian army could start advancing as early as spring, Zaluzhny suggests, “at best in March, at worst at the end of January.” They can attack from Donbass, the south or Belarus. According to the general, Putin’s mobilization “worked”: “The tsar tells them to go to war, and they go. I studied the history of both Chechen wars, it was the same. They may not be so well equipped, but they represent still a problem for us. According to our estimates, they have a reserve of 1.2-1.5 million people.
“But the combat potential will be very, very low, even if he recruits another million people into the army to throw corpses, as he did [маршал] Zhukov. This will not bring the desired result, ”Zaluzhny is sure.
Defense Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov He speaks about the same: Russia can really start a new offensive already in February, and this, in his opinion, is due to the timing of the preparation of the mobilized. According to him, of the 300 thousand mobilized, half have already gone to the occupied territories, the rest are in training. Moreover, the Kremlin is preparing a new wave of mobilization. Analysts of the American Institute for the Study of War to suggestthat an offensive will begin in the west of the Donetsk region, since it is there that the units that have left the Kherson region are concentrated, as well as the mobilized ones.
Zaluzhny announced three main tasks facing the Armed Forces of Ukraine now: maintaining borders, stockpiling reserves, and obtaining a sufficient number of air and missile defense systems, which are needed due to the massive Russian bombardment of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. According to him, because of these attacks, Ukraine is now “in the balance”. “I need 300 tanks, 600-700 infantry fighting vehicles, 500 howitzers,” says the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Melitopol: the next target for the Armed Forces of Ukraine?
Regarding possible major attacks by the Ukrainian army, Zaluzhny notes that the military needs to move 84 km south to the Zaporozhye region, to Melitopol. This city would give fire control over the land corridor to the Crimea – from there the Ukrainians can strike Russian supply routes, including from HIMARS.
“Judging by the sabotage activities, Melitopol could be the target of the offensive. Melitopol and Berdyansk are the key to the south. But I do not exclude that the situation with Kherson could repeat itself. While everyone is watching Melitopol, the liberation of a completely different territory will begin. And the turn will come to Melitopol, ”Viktor Yagun said in a conversation with The Insider.
In November, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine saidthat the Russian army is actively preparing the occupied Melitopol for defense: fortifications and fortifications are being built along the perimeter of the city.
Storm Shadow cruise missiles for Ukraine
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace declaredthat Ukraine needs the supply of long-range missiles and has not ruled out the supply of Storm Shadow cruise missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is a Franco-British development. The missiles can hit targets at a range of up to 560 kilometers. The rocket weighs about 1300 kg, the weight of the warhead is about 450 kg.
However, Wallace did not provide details and noted that he “will not speculate on the type of weapons that will be supplied to Ukraine”.
