Will Ukrainian military abandon the East?
Experts agree: From a military point of view, Kiev is of the highest importance. This assessment was expressed by the head of the research and development department of the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt, Colonel Markus Reisner, on Sunday WHAT. The loss of territory in the east and the encirclement of cities there “does not weigh as heavily as the symbolism of the capital at the moment”.
The Ukrainian military is in a constant battle of attrition. The Ukrainian army must delay the Russian advance in order to prepare the Dnipro (Dnejpr) river as a “line of defense” and consolidate the situation in the south (northwest of Crimea) to prevent a Russian breakthrough into the open area behind the Dnipro, analyzes Reisner.
“The more stubborn the resistance of the Ukrainian forces, the greater the willingness of the Russian troops to use heavy weapons systems in urban areas. But: the better and longer the Ukrainians fight, the more sympathy the world will feel for them and show solidarity with them. “
International experts come to a similar assessment. The American “Institute for the Study of War” writes in a recent report: The Ukrainian leadership could soon be faced with the painful decision to order the withdrawal and leave a larger part of eastern Ukraine to the Russians.
However, there is still no evidence that the Ukrainian government is considering this decision point. Ukrainian resistance remained “remarkably effective and Russian operations, particularly on the Kiev axis, were poorly coordinated and executed, leading to significant Russian errors.” But the Russian armed forces “remain much larger and more capable than Ukraine’s conventional military.”