Ukraine is ramping up for its highly anticipated spring offensive, powered by a huge arsenal of tanks and other weapons being delivered by Western allies, along with newly organized brigades.
“The frontline is priority number one. We are also actively preparing new brigades and units that will show themselves at the front,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address.
“Everyone in Ukraine must understand that the main task of the state is the de-occupation of our territories, the return of our lands and our people from Russian captivity.”
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an alliance of 54 nations working to assist Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, has delivered over 230 tanks and 1,550 armored vehicles “in just a few short months,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday.
Austin noted that Ukraine has received a bevy of equipment and ammunition to support more than nine new armored brigades.
The US has also accelerated the timeline to ship M1 Abrams tanks to train and aid Ukrainian fighters.
“All of this is huge progress, and I am confident that this equipment and the training that accompanied it — it will put Ukraine’s forces in a position to continue to succeed on the battlefield,” he said.
In addition, the 150 Leopard 2 tanks promised by nine Western allies last month are starting to arrive.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told German outlet Tagesschau his country will deliver six Leopard 2 tanks in the coming days, followed by an additional shipment of four.
Germany so far has delivered 18 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, while Portugal has sent over 3, and Poland 14, the Guardian reported.
Britain, meanwhile, has transferred 14 Challenger 2 tanks.
Former British Army Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told The Sun that the tanks would help Ukraine soldiers break through Russia’s defenses and ultimately wreck their forces behind the enemy-held territory, causing the most destruction.
“Now they have tanks and artillery for the close fight, I’m pretty confident they’ll be able to [succeed].”
The influx of weapons and training for Ukraine is coming as Russia makes minor advances, including in the months-long struggle for control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, Moscow has captured three more districts in the city’s western parts.
“The airborne troops were restraining the Ukrainian units on the flanks and supported the actions of the assault squads to capture the city,” the ministry said.
But these gains may be stifled by Russia’s troubles at home maintaining its narrative that the invasion is aimed at “denazification.”
Moscow reportedly canceled an annual World War II commemoration, the Immortal Regiment “Great Patriotic War” remembrance marches, over concerns that it would be used to highlight the country’s losses to Ukraine, according to a UK Ministry of Defense intelligence update.
Meanwhile, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the mercenary Wagner group, whose troops are heavily involved in the Bakhmut campaign, has publicly questioned whether there are actually any Nazis to defeat in Ukraine.
“The authorities have continued attempts to unify the Russian public around polarizing myths about the 1940s,” the UK defense ministry said.
Prigozhin also appears to be sweating over the looming Ukrainian offensive, which will be bolstered with newer and advanced weapons and expects the assault to begin after the spring “mud season” ends.
“They will attack … they will come and try to tear us apart, and we must resist,” he in a recording shared on Telegram.
The concern comes as Russia poises itself to beef up its military, with lawmakers passing new legislation that allows authorities to send electronic conscription notices to draftees and reservists, in addition to physical notices via mail.
Source: NY Post
