Regular Ukrainian advance on Bakhmut flanks: Countdown to G7 Summit to discuss F-16 acquisition: Czech president warns kyiv’s time is running out for major offensive operations
Czech President Petr Pavel warned that Ukraine’s window for major offensive operations against Russian occupation troops will be closed again in the autumn and urged NATO states to provide Ukraine “all necessary equipment and ammunition” Before spring turns to summer.
Speaking at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit in the Danish capital on Monday, Pavel —who previously served as Chairman of the NATO Military Commission and as Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces— he said allies should not wait to send heavy weapons to Ukraine.
“Ukraine has a chance to launch a big counter-offensive this summer, and the window is now getting smaller.”said the Czech president in Copenhagen. “The later the contributions arrive, the less useful they will be, because in the fall the main military operations will be stopped again due to weather and terrain conditions.” “To make good use of the available time window, we should have provided Ukraine with all the necessary equipment and ammunition no later than spring.”Pavel added.
kyiv has been preparing its next counterattack for several months. Western heavy armor, other vehicles, long-range missiles, drones, and massive amounts of munitions have arrived to support kyiv’s troops. with deep Ukrainian strikes targeting Russian command and logistics centers in an effort to erode Moscow’s capabilities.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops are also taking ground around the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut. Russian commanders have reportedly tasked elite airborne troops with holding off the advance. It remains to be seen where Ukraine’s main push will take place, likely supported by Western platforms like Leopard 2 tanks and US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.
Observers assume that a southern attack through from the Zaporozhye front to the occupied Melitopol could cut the land bridge from Moscow to Crimeawhile others have suggested that kyiv may choose to delve deeper into the northeastern Lugansk region.
Regular progress around Bahamut
kyiv forces have made progress around Bakhmut and have blocked the Russian advance west of the city of Donetskaccording to British defense officials.
He UK Ministry of Defense (MOD) He said on Tuesday that troops from the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin were making “gradual progress” in clearing Ukrainian positions in the city center that they had been fighting for months. But in the last four days, Ukrainian troops have also “make steady progress stabilizing Bahamut’s sides to his advantage.”
Ukrainian forces have advanced south of the city and are forcing the Russian front line to turn to the northwest. This is likely to have allowed the kyiv troops restore safer use of a key supply routesaid the British defense report. “Ukraine maintains Russia’s western origins along the line of the Donets-Donbass canal”that turns the watercourse into “part of a deep defense zone” around the town of Chasof Yar, about six miles to the east.
Meanwhile, Yuriy Shak, adviser to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, stated that kyiv wants up to 50 F-16 fighter jets. It is a demand that Ukraine hopes will be at the top of the agenda at the G7 summit in Japan, which begins on May 19. Shaq told Politico that he received “guarantees” from Western leaders that they will discuss the issue in the coming days. Poland and Slovakia have already given Ukraine Soviet-era MiG-29s, but the Ukrainians are asking for American-made F-16s.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said that providing Ukraine with combat aircraft “was not a simple matter.” However, the UK would play a key role among kyiv’s allies in providing military support.
This comes after the Ukrainian capital was hit by an “extremely intense” airstrike on Monday night, the military administration of the city of kyiv said. He said that the Russian forces probably they used drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles from multiple directions.