(Dan Tri) – Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to have a plan for a war of attrition in Ukraine, focusing on monitoring the situation in the US and in NATO to achieve the best results in this strategy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: Sputnik).
Mr. Alexei Mukhin, head of the Moscow-based Center for Political Information, which provides consulting services to the presidential administration, said that President Putin is likely to strengthen the military campaign.
With Russia lacking the manpower needed for a decisive breakthrough and Ukraine struggling with arms and ammunition supplies, there is no sign that either side can end the war anytime soon.
Russian forces in recent days have increased missile launches at Ukrainian cities, and accused Western countries of taking advantage of negotiations to buy time for Ukraine to rearm.
According to experts, that raises speculation that Russia may be getting ready for measures to increase hostilities, including mobilizing other reserve forces.
According to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Russia plans to create two new combined corps, 14 divisions and 16 brigades by the end of this year.
`Groups of Russian forces continue to push the Ukrainian formation westward,` Mr. Shoigu said during an online meeting with senior officers on April 2.
However, it may now be difficult for Russia to mount new major offensives to gain control of cities such as Kharkov in northeastern UKraine, an area from which Moscow was forced to withdraw by the end of 2022,
President Putin’s announced plan to create a buffer zone in Ukraine to protect Russia’s border areas from increasing attacks also appears difficult to implement without more troops.
`I don’t believe Russia can quickly gain control of Kharkov because they don’t have enough forces for such a task and the city is too big,` said expert Ruslan Pukhov, head of the Center for Strategic and Industrial Analysis.
According to this expert, to have a real breakthrough in this war, Russia needs much better communication capabilities, more high-precision weapons and more manpower.
Ukraine also faces increasing challenges.
Having failed to achieve a breakthrough in last summer’s counteroffensive, Ukrainian forces are now struggling with an increasingly serious shortage of ammunition as the US Congress still rejects a $60 billion military aid package.
Russia is seizing the opportunity to launch attacks across the front line after gaining control of the strategic eastern town of Avdiivka in February.
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