According to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and military experts, the US push to send artillery to Ukraine marks the deterioration of Russian forces not only on the current battlefield but also in the long term.
The United States, France, the Czech Republic and other allies are sending dozens of long-range shells to help Ukraine stop an escalating offensive in the eastern Donbass region.
Backed by better air defense, attack aircraft and Western intelligence, the allies hope that Kiev will be able to destroy most of Russia’s weaponry in the coming conflict.
After returning to Kiev, where he met with Ukrainian defense chiefs and President Volodymyr Zelensky, Austin told reporters on Monday that Washington had higher expectations.
“Russia has already lost a lot of military capabilities and a lot of soldiers, frankly. And we want to see if they can’t multiply that capability quickly,” Austin said.
“We want to see Russia become too weak to do what it did by invading Ukraine,” he said.
“War of attrition”
This is a departure from Washington’s initial approach, which only hopes to help prevent Moscow’s capture of the Ukrainian capital and the fall of Zelensky’s government.
Indeed, with the help of anti-aircraft and anti-armor missiles supplied by the United States and its European allies, Ukrainian troops forced the Russian army to withdraw from northern Ukraine within six weeks of the offensive on February 24.
But Moscow now controls parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, apparently with the intention of expanding into the center of the country by sending more troops and equipment there.
Experts believe his plan is to use long-range bombing to repel most of the Ukrainian forces and then send troops and tanks to protect the area.
According to Mike Jacobson, an American civilian expert in field artillery, Ukraine’s best option is to respond with superior artillery supported by protective airstrikes to destroy Russian power.
Jacobson predicts this would lead to a “war of attrition” in which Ukraine could deter the Russians, with materials supplied by the Allies with greater range and accuracy.
“I think superior artillery will undermine the Russians’ ability to wage this war,” Jacobson told AFP.
Phillips O’Brien, St. Andrews wrote that the upcoming artillery war would resemble World War I, where both sides tried to defeat the other with exhausting bombings.
The Russian army is “significantly smaller and has lost more equipment. The Ukrainian army is on the verge of being smaller but much better armed,” he explained.
“Russia needs to change this dynamic or it will lose the war of attrition,” he said.
fast shipping
The United States and other allies are stepping up shipments to take advantage of the slow regrouping of Russian forces after the withdrawal from northern Ukraine.
According to a Pentagon official, at least 18 of the 90 weapons Washington has committed in the past two weeks have already been shipped to Ukraine, and more will be shipped soon this week.
In addition, Washington is delivering about 200,000 howitzer ammunition and is preparing ammunition for Russian-made artillery used by Ukrainian forces.
About 50 Ukrainian soldiers have already been trained in the use of US howitzers and will receive more this week.
Meanwhile, France is shipping its ultra-advanced mobile howitzer, Caesar, and old self-propelled howitzers to the Czech Republic.
Canada is also shipping advanced guided “Excalibur” howitzers and shells that can travel more than 40km and hit targets accurately.
“The fighting in Donbass will depend heavily on what we call long-range fire, specifically artillery,” said a senior US defense official.
“This is why we are focusing on providing artillery and tactical drones to Ukraine,” the official said.
It refers to Allied “suicide drones”, which are drones armed with bombs that can be driven for hours to locate and blow up Russian targets.
But there is no guarantee that such a strategy will allow Ukraine to expel the Russians.
If he were victorious in the artillery battle of Kyiv, at some point it would “force (the Russians) to realistically escalate or negotiate,” Jacobson said. “Russia will be disappointed but not defeated,” he said.
source: Noticias
