Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, chief of the defence staff, said a Ukraine victory depended on it being able to outlast Russia
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin warns of long war after Ukraine counteroffensive failed to achieve decisive breakthrough
Russian defences in Ukraine have been stronger than the West anticipated, the head of the British armed forces has admitted.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the chief of the defence staff, suggested expectations may need to be “adjusted” about what Kyiv can achieve in the short term after the counteroffensive failed to deliver the decisive breakthrough many hoped for at the beginning of the summer.
Radakin yesterday accompanied Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, to Ukraine. It was Shapps’s first visit to Kyiv since he replaced Ben Wallace earlier this month.
President Zelensky met Grant Shapps in the latter’s first visit to Ukraine as defence secretary UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS OFFICE/PA
The trip was an opportunity for Shapps to meet both President Zelensky and Rustem Umerov, the new Ukrainian defence secretary. Umerov replaced Oleksii Reznikov earlier this year after the military was embroiled in a series of
DRO1019 on October 1st, 2023 at 18:43 UTC »
Well, yeah, the second largest army in the world shouldn't be underestimated. Especially when they only had to travel less than 200 miles and know the landscape.
cookiemikester on October 1st, 2023 at 18:18 UTC »
Anytime I’ve listened to the telegraph, Michael koffman, etc they’ve all said how strong the Surovikin Line is. anytime someone has suggested the Russian military was incompetent, or not learning from the war, it was always pointed out that their dug-in lines are very well made. Maybe more mainstream pieces have downplayed the Russian defense? I just haven’t seen it suggested that it would be easy. The only unknown was what kind of reserves Russia has to fill gaps and counter attack.
Billiusboikus on October 1st, 2023 at 15:22 UTC »
Is this not why Ukraine has seemingly switched to a more stand off attritional approach?
When it all started I expected a swift victory for Russia and a guerilla campaign funded by the west aimed at making the occupation unfeasible. I even wrote to my representative to encourage the fermentation of resistance groups...how wrong I was....
But that doesn't mean the strategy still can't apply. Maintaining a good kill ratio while on the offence with stand off tactics, hitting supplies and destroying expensive high value targets in regard to material and high value individuals seems like a good way to move towards victory...all the while capturing land when the opportunity arises.
We can point to a large handful of results in the last 4 months that any western country would consider a complete disaster.
The drone attack on the strategic bombers, The destruction of the dry docked submarine, The attack on the Sevastopol naval HQ
I would say the Ukrainians have commited to a different type of counter offensive to what people expected.
That said, if the west want to win this war they need to step up. We need to convert more of our economy to providing arms. Popular will to support will decrease over time no matter how resilient it may seem.
Edit for clarity