Moscow readies its weapons for Ukrainian counteroffensive
Russia, with more than 800 kilometres of defences, is preparing for a Ukrainian counteroffensive, the outcome of which will be decisive for the continuation of the conflict, AFP reports, quoted by news.ro.
The Russian installations stretch from Herson in the south to the north-east of Ukraine, i.e. between 800 and 900 kilometres. An accumulation of "layers of fortifications and trenches," Brady Africk of the American Enterprise Institute think-tank explains to AFP.
"This includes anti-tank trenches, barriers, prefabricated defensive lines like 'dragon's teeth' and man trench."
Ukrainian attacks will therefore face several successive curtains. "The Russians' goal is to take the hit," sums up Pierre Razoux, director of the Mediterranean Foundation for Strategic Studies (FMES), "In the second curtain, the attacker tends to get stuck, and even if they get through, the third is tricky."
The location of the counteroffensive may not yet be decided. And it may be preceded by "a decoy, small-scale attack" for the Russians to open up against "what is not the main attack".
In Moscow, Vassily Kashin of HSE National University points to the Bahmut region, the scene of months of heavy fighting, and the south as options. "The data we have is very limited," he admits.
The Ukrainian military command is preparing to launch a counteroffensive in May, according to the US daily The New York Times.
"According to Petagon documents leaked to the press that give an idea of Kiev's timetable, 12 Ukrainian brigades of 4,000 men each are expected to be ready by the end of April," the paper reports.
Although, according to the NYT, the Ukrainian military command is not sharing details of its plans with US authorities, the counteroffensive is expected to take place on the southern front, along the Azov Sea coast, with the aim of cutting the strip Russia has occupied to link the Crimean peninsula to its territory on land.
"On the front line, more than 10,000 Ukrainian fighters are concentrated near the city of Guliaipole," Vladimir Rogov, a member of the administrative council installed by Russia in the Zaporozhye region (southern Ukraine), told RIA Novosti.
He says the Ukrainians have brought more tanks to the area, which is about 100 kilometres from the shore of the Sea of Azov. But Rogov warned that an offensive in the Zaporozhye region could be fatal for Ukraine.
