Putin has a problem. His invasion of Ukraine, intended as a days-long operation, is now grinding into its third week and becoming a bloodbath. Attacks across the country are stalled amid predictions that Russia will soon struggle to hold the territory it has - let alone capture more. In short: he needs more men for the meat grinder. But where to find them? America estimates Russia has committed somewhere between half and three quarters of its total land forces to Ukraine, and all of those are already involved in the fighting.
Some 'spare' units will be involved in active missions elsewhere, while others will be for territorial defence - leaving the country vulnerable to attack if they are sent abroad. That conundrum has forced the Kremlin to reach far from the frontlines in search of men, according to Britain's Ministry of Defence, which says reinforcements are now being drawn from as far afield as eastern Siberia, the Pacific Fleet, and Armenia.
That is in addition to Syrian fighters and paid mercenaries - hundreds of the from the shadowy Wagner Group - which have already been committed to the fight. The UK believes such reinforcements would likely be used to hold Ukrainian territory already captured by Russia which would then free up regular units for fresh assaults - almost certainly targeting major cities like Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and Chernihiv.
Another goal would likely be to encircle a large number of Ukrainian forces in the Donbass, spread out along the old frontline with Russian-backed rebel groups. But it is unclear whether those reinforcements will be effective. Some could take weeks to reach the front, while Syrian mercenaries are likely to be poorly trained and un-used to the terrain and climate of eastern Europe. In the meantime, Ukraine claims it is successfully counter-attacking Putin's men and 'radically changing' the battlefield.
President Zelensky has admitted that 1,300 soldiers have been killed, though the actual toll is likely far higher. Losses are likely to be highest in the south of Ukraine, where the Russian military has captured the most territory. Without knowing the size of the Ukrainian force - which started around 250,000 troops - it is difficult to know how much longer the country can hold out, or what its ability to counter-attack is. Certainly, Kyiv is also facing manpower issues.
If you cherished this write-up and Lawyer Turkey you would like to receive far more information pertaining to Lawyer Turkey kindly take a look at our own web-page. That much is clear from Zelensky's appeal to overseas fighters to join the Ukrainian foreign legion, pleading for anyone with military experience to sign up and fight - with the promise of citizenship at the end. Ukraine claims some 20,000 people have registered their interest, and foreign fighters are already known to be on the frontlines while others train for war at bases in the west of the country - one of which was hit by missile strikes at the weekend.
Soldiers from the US, UK, Canada, Israel, Poland, and Croatia are known to be among them. Zelensky has also called up the entirety of Ukraine's reservists - estimated at around 220,000 men - and has put in place laws preventing any man aged between 18 and 60 from leaving the country in case they need to be conscripted into the military. Ukraine has also been pleading with the West to send more equipment - particularly fighter jets.
A plan for Poland to donate its entire fleet of MiGs to Kyiv's forces and have them replaced with F-16s fell flat amid fears it could prompt Russia to escalate, to the frustration of the Ukrainians. Kyiv has also been asking for more armed drones, anti-ship missiles, electronic jamming equipment and surface-to-air missiles that can strike aircraft and rockets at high altitude to help shield against withering Russian bombardments that are increasingly targeting cities. The Biden administration will discuss today what extra equipment it is willing to give Ukraine, including whether to include Switchblade 'suicide drones' in its next aid package. Switchblades are cheap, remote-controlled aircraft that act as a kind of missile that can be pre-programmed to strike a target or else flown to targets by controllers.
They are known as 'loitering munitions' because they can circle their targets for up to 40 minutes before striking.
Ukrainian troops from the Azov battalion stand next to destroyed Russian tanks in Mariupol, Lawyer Turkey where Putin's men have suffered heavy losses including the death of a general
Уважаемый посетитель, Вы зашли на сайт kopirki.net как незарегистрированный пользователь. Мы рекомендуем Вам зарегистрироваться либо войти на сайт под своим именем.