Ukraine Active Defense:
137$ billion in military and financial aid for Ukraine has encountered delays in both Washington and Brussels. Despite the stalled aid, individual European and NATO bolsters Ukraine defence against Russia. Over the past week, Ukrainian ground troops maintained an “active defense” along a 1,000km line, successfully resisting Russian assaults. Ukraine’s Air Force capitalized on an opportunity, destroying one of the few Russian reconnaissance planes in the process.
The resistance persisted in the past week, as ground troops maintained a 1,000km line against Russian assaults. The ground troops were engaged in what their commander termed an “active defense” strategy. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Air Force took advantage of an opportunity to destroy one of the few Russian reconnaissance planes.
Ukraine Achievements:
On Monday, Ukraine destroyed the Beriev A-50 over the Sea of Azov, resulting in the loss of all crew members, as confirmed by the commander in chief. An Ilyushin-22 command aircraft was effectively destroyed, although it managed to make a landing. The A-50 was one of only three operational aircraft of its kind and played a crucial role in directing missile attacks.
Two days prior, Russia had launched 40 drones and missiles into Ukraine. Ukrainian defenders successfully shot down eight missiles and claimed to disable around 20 more using electronic jamming. In a subsequent attack on Wednesday, Russia wounded 17 people in central Kharkiv, demonstrating their missile capability.
The past week saw intense aerial activities, with Ukrainian ground forces maintaining an “active defense” strategy against Russian efforts to control eastern regions.
Ukrainian ground forces, led by Commander Oleksandr Syrskiy, remain focused on holding positions and inflicting maximum losses on the enemy.
Russian Initiative:
Syrskiy’s statements seemed to affirm that Russia had taken the initiative in the attacks. Russian armed forces have the right to launch attacks. President Putin informed in a meeting with local government leaders. Putin expressed concerns, stating that if this continued, Ukrainian statehood might suffer an irreparable and serious blow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded the next day at the World Economic Forum, saying Putin would not abandon his maximalist goals in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy is of the view that its better for the word leaders to address the situation with Ukraine already engaged in war . Zelenskyy emphasized the role of Ukrainian men and women as the world’s chance to counter Putin’s actions.
Rearmament
The defiant positions of the two leaders hinted at the possibility of another year of bitter war in Ukraine. Conflict continued in Gaza and the Red Sea, adding to the global tensions. Rearmament emerged as a significant theme for both Europe and Ukraine amid the ongoing turmoil.
Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, NATO’s Military Committee chief, emphasized the necessity for a war-fighting transformation of NATO. Admiral Bauer made this statement during the opening of a two-day meeting of defense ministers in Brussels on Wednesday.
NATO Stance:
NATO members are facing an era of uncertainty where unexpected events can occur at any time. this calls for facing the unexpected and greater preparation.
This mindset is echoed within the European Commission.
Thierry Breton, Internal Market Commissioner, announced 100 billion euros plan to propose a European Defence Investment Programme next month to enhance capacity in European defense industries.
EU Military Assistance to Ukraine:
In March, the EU promised a million artillery shells to Ukraine within a year. By November, less than a third of the pledged shells were delivered. The European Commission confirmed their commitment to fulfill the promise by early this year.European production capacity for shells was expected to reach a million per year, matching that of the US.
Ukraine’s military intelligence reported that Russia’s shell production capacity equaled that of the US and EU combined. Russia’s covert mobilization involved recruiting half a million men in the previous year, resulting in a force of 462,000 soldiers in Ukraine.
Keeping in view theseRussian capabilities, boosting Ukraine defense is the need of time.
$61 billion in aid for 2024 was stalled in Congressional deliberations in Washington due to Republican opposition. In Brussels, two aid packages of 50 billion euros and 20 billion euros were delayed due to Hungarian opposition.
The US suspended security assistance to Ukraine due to the aid impasse.
European countries chose to move forward with bilateral support.
Estonia committed 1.2 billion euros in aid, including howitzers and ammunition, over the next four years. Estonia pledged 0.25 percent of its GDP to Ukraine’s defense over the next four years.
.
