RE: Tecc9 Aug 2023 08:18
Stuck…DT 28mins ago…
“Ukraine is “highly unlikely” to make a major breakthrough in its counter-offensive to retake territory held by Russia, senior US and Western officials have said, citing “sobering” intelligence.
Ukraine is struggling to break through Russia’s defensive lines in the east and south of the country and the map has barely changed since the highly anticipated counter-offensive began two months ago.
“Our briefings are sobering. We’re reminded of the challenges they face,” Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat who has recently met with US commanders training Ukrainian forces in Europe, told CNN. “This is the most difficult time of the war.”
“They’re still going to see, for the next couple of weeks, if there is a chance of making some progress. But for them to really make progress that would change the balance of this conflict, I think, it’s extremely, highly unlikely,” a senior western diplomat told the American news channel.
“Russians have a number of defensive lines and they [Ukrainian forces] haven’t really gone through the first line,” another senior Western diplomat told CNN. “Even if they would keep on fighting for the next several weeks, if they haven’t been able to make more breakthroughs throughout these last seven, eight weeks, what is the likelihood that they will suddenly, with more depleted forces, make them? Because the conditions are so hard.”
While the autumn is set to bring the long sought-after Abrams tanks from the US, it will also bring more challenging weather conditions for advancing.”
Trek
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