Apr 28, 2023
Muhammed Enes Yildirim/Getty Images
- Ukraine is almost ready to launch a long-awaited spring counteroffensive, its defense minister said.
- “We are to a high percentage ready,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Friday.
- Reznikov said Western-supplied weapons would serve as an “iron fist” against Russian forces.
Ukraine’s forces are nearly ready to launch a counteroffensive against the Russian invaders with weapons from the West, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Friday.
“As soon as there is God’s will, the weather and a decision by commanders, we will do it,” Reznikov said during an online briefing, per Reuters. “We are to a high percentage ready.”
Reznikov said that Western-supplied arms would serve as an “iron fist” in this effort.
The day prior, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that alliance members and their partners had delivered over 98% of the combat vehicles pledged to Kyiv. Stoltenberg said the aid provided to Ukraine included over 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks, and other military hardware, as well as “vast amounts of ammunition.”
“This will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory,” Stoltenberg said.
US Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the top commander of US forces in Europe and NATO’s top general, told congressional lawmakers during a House Armed Services committee hearing on Wednesday he is “very confident” that Ukraine has what it needs for a successful counteroffensive. “We’ll continue a pipeline to sustain their operations as well,” he said. The M1 Abrams tanks promised by the US are still to come.
Though Cavoli expressed confidence, recently leaked top secret Pentagon documents that became a major point of controversy in Washington and abroad suggested that the US is not especially optimistic that Ukraine can actually make major gains in a counteroffensive.
While Ukraine’s long-awaited spring counteroffensive is widely expected to start soon, some military analysts contend that it has already begun in small ways, pointing to reported Ukrainian advances across the Dnipro River in the Kherson region.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian people continue to face the deadly consequences of the Russian onslaught, which targets not just the Ukrainian armed forces but also civilians.
Reznikov’s comments on Friday came as Russia launched fresh missile attacks across Ukraine — including in the capital city, Kyiv — that killed at least 25, BBC News reported. Several children were reportedly among those killed in strikes on residential areas.
In the wake of these fatal attacks on Ukrainian cities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that “Russian terror” could only be defeated “with weapons for Ukraine, the toughest sanctions against the terrorist state, and fair sentences for the killers.”
Despite the high level of readiness, it would’ve been very nice to see other, highly needed items in Ukraine, like Western jets and long-range missiles.
According to the WH, Ukraine don’t need planes for this counteroffensive. When was the last time the US fought a war without planes?
The Yellow House is clearly lying through its yellow teeth.
“When was the last time the US fought a war without planes?”
The US Civil War springs to mind, which – as is the situation in Ukraine – is the last time that the US fought a war on its own territory. (We did use hot air balloons, for aerial reconnaissance and for directing artillery fire on enemy positions.)
“According to the WH, Ukraine don’t need planes for this counteroffensive.”
I’d wager that the WH never said anything that stupid. I’m pretty sure that what they said was that Ukraine didn’t need planes *from the US*. There have been many articles posted explaining why F16s would not be a good choice for Ukraine at this time.
(Note that the US wants to continue to sell F16s to its allies, so advertising the reasons that limit its usefulness in Ukraine probably isn’t something we want to do.)
White House supports countries sending fighter jets to Ukraine
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/white-house-supports-countries-sending-112800593.html
This is what they said.
https://ukrainetoday.org/2023/04/26/not-a-priority-the-united-states-made-a-new-statement-on-the-supply-of-western-fighters-to-ukraine/
So, they didn’t say it’s not needed, just that it’s not a priority – they said it’s on the list, but in eighth place.
“the time it would take to deliver Western fourth-generation fighters and train the Ukrainians on them would be too long for their current fight, an argument other Pentagon officials have also made.”
“Instead, Wallender and Cavoli touted the recent transfer of Soviet-era fighters from Slovakia and Poland to Ukraine, saying those jets could be quickly integrated into operations.”
“Legacy Soviet aircraft have been helpful to the Ukrainians because their pilots are trained on those aircraft, they know how to use them, they know how to maintain them,” Wallander said.
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/pentagons-europe-f-16s-ukraine-russian-air-force/
“the time it would take to deliver Western fourth-generation fighters and train the Ukrainians on them would be too long for their current fight, an argument other Pentagon officials have also made.”
This is the core of Biden’s problems, and which makes him a lousy leader for something like this war. He’s always denying things first until he says maybe until he finally concurs and finally sends things that are insufficient in numbers and late too much too late. Had Biden acted as a POTUS with foresight, courage and intelligence, he would’ve started a training program 6, 7, or 8 months ago. We could be in a much better position now.
And if you need MORE references to recognize the truth that your usual news doesn’t tell you about…
https://ukrainetoday.org/2023/01/30/biden-says-us-wont-give-f-16s-to-ukraine/
https://ukrainetoday.org/2023/02/26/gop-blasts-biden-for-refusing-ukraine-f-16-fighter-jets-real-blunder/
“The F-16 is an afterthought,” https://ukrainetoday.org/2023/02/28/the-white-house-clarified-bidens-words-about-ukraine-not-needing-f-16s/
https://ukrainetoday.org/2023/02/02/washington-post-bidens-no-on-f-16s-for-ukraine-met-with-skepticism-in-pentagon/
Combat fighters are included in the list of weapons that cannot be “unlocked” yet. https://ukrainetoday.org/2023/01/31/white-house-defends-decision-not-to-transfer-f-16s-to-ukraine-cnn/
President Joe Biden recently said he would not supply the planes to Ukraine for the time being. https://ukrainetoday.org/2023/03/18/a-decorated-former-us-f-16-pilot-says-he-would-fly-fighter-jets-for-ukraine-you-can-count-on-me-he-told-a-voa-interview/
RSM – I wasn’t questioning that the US isn’t sending F16s. I was questioning the claim that the WH said that Ukraine didn’t need *any* planes *at all*. And foccusser’s update confirmed that that’s *not* what they said.
This is what Biden said: “He doesn’t need F-16s now,”
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/biden-rules-sending-16s-ukraine-now-97455835