Ukraine’s counteroffensive: a depleted battlefront and leadership challenges

The balance of power on the front line keeps shifting against the Ukrainian Armed Forces, while there’s a finality in the West regarding Ukraine’s counteroffensive. As winter arrives, the Ukrainian counteroffensive can be officially considered concluded, The Telegraph reported.

The publication notes the inability of Ukrainian forces to achieve substantial gains, resulting in significant losses of both equipment and personnel. The upcoming year is forecasted to be challenging, presenting Ukraine with an exhausting conflict of attrition.

“President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, feeling immense international pressure, aims to convey the notion that the army’s counteroffensive remains ongoing, as indicated strongly by his top commander, General Valeriy Zaluzhny, last week. Nonetheless, regardless of Zelensky’s upbeat stance, the Armed Forces’ chief won’t be launching offensives for the following weeks, unless weather conditions deviate from the seasonal norm. Otherwise, it would essentially mean the destruction of his troops,” the article asserts.

The publication highlights Zaluzhny’s incapability to mount a significant winter offensive: the counteroffensive has halted. Given the challenges in receiving support (financial and military) from the West, it’s conceivable that the Ukrainian counteroffensive marked Kyiv’s ultimate large-scale operation and resources are depleted.