It's NATO's fault for this. The Ukrainian counterattack did not go smoothly. Hollywood | Ukraine | NATO
On July 26th, the website of Newsweek reported that Ukrainian President Zelensky may receive a Hollywood like welcome in Western capitals, but the Ukrainian president has already stated that the slow progress of the Kiev counterattack indicates that real war is not a Hollywood movie.
According to reports, there are many reasons for the limited achievements of the Ukrainian counterattack, and the strong defense capabilities of Russia are also one of the factors. But some experts point to a less obvious factor: NATO. They said that NATO artificially set a deadline for launching a counterattack and failed to provide sufficient preparation for the Ukrainian army.
"For Ukraine, this is not as smooth as they hoped," said Glenn Grant, a military analyst who provided advice to the Ukrainian military
Harvard University professor Graham Allison mentioned this fact, stating that at the current pace of progress, he believes that Kiev will take 16 years to recover all its territories.
According to reports, Ukraine's counterattack launched last year was successful because it faced a shortage of personnel and dispersed Russian forces, which faced difficulties in logistics and command. Now, Ukraine is confronting fully prepared Russian military defense forces.
Jay Trusdale, CEO of Global Integrity, a geopolitical risk consulting firm, and former US diplomat, said, "Ukraine still needs to make up for its air disadvantage and ammunition shortage, both of which are important components of a successful offensive."
Trusdale believes that Kiev's allies are "optimistic" that Ukraine can make progress, although it does face an urgent timetable to demonstrate success before the next winter arrives and the political cycle of its Western supporters ends.
According to reports, a US official said on June 23 that the Ukrainian offensive on any of the three fronts "did not meet expectations.". However, people are increasingly concerned that Ukraine will make military decisions based on Western timetables. Military analyst Alan Orr said, "The timing of the summer offensive is driven by NATO's arbitrarily set timetable, not Ukraine."
Orr believes that pushing the Ukrainian army to shift from guerrilla style defense to conventional attack within six months is always a bit difficult for the strong. In addition, he believes that NATO has not provided Ukraine with sufficient equipment and resources, nor has it given Kiev enough time to master these Western style equipment.
Orr said, "The entire offensive is based on the assumption that due to the low morale of the Russian army, their defense line will collapse under pressure. But it doesn't." In fact, the Russians adapt faster than the Ukrainians receive training.
Nicolo Fasola, a researcher at the University of Bologna in Italy, said, "The Ukrainians have formulated a counterattack timetable with the goal of showcasing their actual achievements at the NATO summit."
He said, "I believe that we have advanced too much in terms of strategic technology, hoping that by providing advanced Western weapons to the Ukrainian army alone, they will be able to defeat the less equipped Russian army."
"Yes, we gave the Ukrainians the most advanced Western weapons, but we didn't have enough time to provide them with comprehensive and proper training," said Fasola
