This week started quite dramatically in Ukraine. Drones rained down on the city of Odesa in the south, a total of 23 came in several waves. The Russians then followed with eight cruise missiles. The air force is said to have shot them all down, but several buildings were set on fire. Three people were injured. The war in Ukraine continues in full swing, no one is talking about negotiations and a ceasefire. DESTRUCTION: A large shopping center burned in Odesa after a violent Russian attack. Photo: Reuters It will soon be a year and a half since Russia launched the brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. Russian artillery attacks Ukrainian forces. The video must be from Klishchiivka. THE RUSSIAN DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE The front line in eastern Ukraine is a full 1,500 kilometers long. These are some of the places where fierce fighting is taking place: Kharkiv region. There, the Russian authorities claim that they have made some progress and taken smaller areas. Bakhmut. Ukrainian authorities say they have taken back control of areas outside the bombed-out city that the Russians took control of in May.Zaporizjzja. The Ukrainian forces attack along three axes.Kherson. Ukrainian forces are trying to gain a foothold on the southern/eastern side of the river there. A third of Oslo At the beginning of June, the Ukrainians launched their long-awaited counter-offensive. By then, Ukraine had received large quantities of weapons and ammunition from Western countries. Ukrainian soldiers had received training in the West. SURPRISED: Professor Tormod Heier at the Norwegian Defense College says that Ukraine has taken back very small areas during the summer. But the Ukrainian authorities say frankly that the offensive has not produced the results they had hoped for. – During the summer, Ukrainian forces did not liberate more than 170 square kilometers of Russian-occupied areas. It is a third of Oslo. It is a very small part of the 18 percent that Russia has occupied, says Tormod Heier, professor at the Norwegian Defense Academy, to news. AIRSPACE IMPORTANT: A Ukrainian fighter plane in its own airspace. Now the Ukrainians are waiting for more modern American aircraft of the F-16 type. Photo: AP He points out that Ukraine has built up a large and competent land force. The country has received more than 230 tanks and 1,500 armored vehicles. The Ukrainians have also received quantities of other Western weapons, including long-range missiles. And perhaps the most important thing they get is detailed information from Western intelligence about the Russian forces. – Last autumn, the Ukrainians managed to take back large areas from the Russians. Many are probably surprised and disappointed that they cannot do the same now. War in trenches The Ukrainians have so far attacked the Russians with smaller forces and artillery. They have advanced slowly towards the Russians’ main defense lines, where they stand today. A SLOW OFFENSIVE: Ukrainian soldiers in a trench near the town of Bakhmut. Photo: AFP Ukraine continues to attack Russian rear areas with drones and rockets, while at the same time attacking the front with artillery. In this way, they wear down the Russian forces, explains Palle Ydstebø, lieutenant colonel at the Norwegian Military Academy, to news. WANT TO BREAK DOWN THE RUSSIANS: Lieutenant-Colonel Palle Ydstebø at the Military Academy says that the Ukrainian offensive is progressing slowly and that it is largely a trench war. Photo: Gunhild Hjermundrud / news – What is happening now is a trench war, there is a slow offensive going on on the ground. The Russians are driven from trench to trench, says the expert. But he adds that the Ukrainians have major problems with the many mines that the Russians have laid out. Since last year, the Russians have laid out hundreds of thousands of different mines, perhaps millions. – These minefields along the front line are very important for the Russian army, they make it much more difficult for the Ukrainians to advance, to break through the front line, says the Norwegian officer. DANGEROUS: Ukrainian forces remove some of the many mines that the Russians have placed in the country. Photo: Reuters Furthermore, he believes that it is uncertain what kind of quality there is in the Russian units along the front line, and how big they are. – Autumn will be a time of fate The Russians have had a long time to build solid defenses along the front line. The Russian army is known for having good engineering forces. Professor Heier believes that the Ukrainians wanted to break through the belt that the Russians have taken in the eastern and southern part of the country. The goal has been to reach the Sea of Azov, but they have not been able to do that so far. DESTRUCTIONS: Russian attacks against the city of Pokrovsk have led to massive destruction. Photo: STRINGER / Reuters He says that the conflict is about to become deadlocked. And that the Russians are trying to take the air out of the Ukrainian counter-offensive. – This autumn will be a fateful time for Ukraine’s sovereignty. It is not certain that the Ukrainians will get back the 18 percent that Russia has occupied, says Heier. There has been a storm around the chief of staff of NATO’s secretary general, Stian Jenssen, after a statement during Arendal Week that “a solution could be for Ukraine to give up territory and get NATO membership in return”. He has since come out and corrected his own statement, saying that “it came out wrong”. Strong Ukrainian reactions President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s adviser Mykhajlo Podoljak has rejected that Ukraine would be able to accept NATO membership in exchange for ceding territory to Russia. He believes that such a solution will only lead to more war in Europe. A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called the statements from Chief of Staff Stian Jenssen “completely unacceptable”. SURPRISED: Ukrainian researcher Ilya Kusa says that no Ukrainian leader will give up territory. Photo: Ukrainian institute for the future / Starostenko A Ukrainian researcher tells news that it is surprising to hear such statements from a representative of NATO. They usually come from the Russian side or from Russia’s supporters. – No Ukrainian leader will be able to agree to give up territory to Russia, says Ilya Kusa at the Ukrainian Institute for the Future. A Ukrainian commentator tells news that NATO should not negotiate on Ukrainian territory. – This is very harmful. This shows that NATO is willing to break the basic principles of international law and excuse aggression, says Hanna Schelest at the foreign affairs institute Ukrainian Prism. She points out that the statements from Jens Stoltenberg’s chief of staff are already being actively used in Russian propaganda. Behind closed doors, Tormod Heier claims that there is a discussion going on in several places in the West that Ukraine may have to give up territory. But that it happens behind closed doors because the question is so sensitive. – The Ukrainians say that any such discussion is harmful, and that the Russians take advantage of the statements? – Yes, it could be harmful to Ukraine’s will to defend itself. And the Ukrainians are certainly right that the Russian propaganda will use this case, says Heier. – By talking about this, NATO is kicking its legs out from under the country the organization is supposed to help. But at the same time, it is the brutal logic of power that applies here. Russia has nuclear weapons that the West is afraid of. – As expected Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø says that the Ukrainians will probably continue to weaken the Russian defense capability by attacking the Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea fleet. They will destroy railways and roads which are important for the Russian military supplies. They will probably continue to push on the front in the south. And they will probably still make progress, but how much is difficult to say, points out the expert. – The situation now is as expected. We don’t know how good the Russians will be at defending their positions. A lot will also depend on the weather conditions, how wet it gets on the ground, says Ydstebø. Hear also: Western unity Although the Ukrainians have gradually received large quantities of weapons and ammunition from Western countries, it has not gone as quickly as they wanted. Part of the explanation is that processes in democratic countries often take a long time. PREPARATION: Ukrainian soldiers are preparing for battle in the Zaporizhzhya region. Photo: Reuters Tormod Heier points out that the war in Ukraine is not as important to some politicians in the US as it was a year and a half ago. – What Ukrainians fear most of all now is that Western solidarity will crumble. If that happens, they have lost, says the professor. The Ukrainians struggle with the fact that they are vulnerable from the air. They are fired upon by Russian planes and helicopters, and they are hit by drones and rockets. The Ukrainians need very large quantities of ammunition, but are not getting what they need. Western production is not designed to supply a war between two of Europe’s largest countries. – This makes it difficult to gather the forces for a powerful attack where the Russians have a weak point. It should have been done, because something unexpected could throw the Russian forces off balance, Heier believes. He says that although the Ukrainians have received good training in waging war, it takes time to get all arms and departments working together. – It wasn’t done in 18 months, it probably took 18 years to get it done.
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This is the situation on the battlefield – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
