New Delhi:
Russia Ukraine War: Russia’s full scale attack on Ukraine started on 24 February 2022. Western officials initially predicted that Ukraine would soon be defeated. But 1,000 days later, Kiev and much of Ukraine still stands despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempt to capture the capital and force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government and military to surrender.
damage to ukraine
Behind Ukraine lies the determination of its people and the unprecedented support of its Western partners, which has not yet allowed it to lose. But Ukraine has lost about 20 percent of its territory and thousands of civilians, including soldiers. Russia is still advancing and the war is not over yet. Deadly attacks have now started from both sides. While Ukraine has started using long-range missiles, Russia has also responded by attacking with intermediate range ballistic missiles.
Putin’s answer
Vladimir Putin made clear that Moscow had fired an experimental hypersonic missile at Ukraine in response to the US and Britain allowing Kiev to use advanced Western weaponry on targets inside Russia. The Russian president said an Oreshnik missile was used to target a factory in Dnipro (now part of Ukraine), which was formerly the Soviet Union’s top-secret rocket-manufacturing facility.
However, a senior Ukrainian military officer claimed that the missile used by Russia was the RS-26 Rubezh, which has a range of up to 6,000 km.
US missile use
Ukraine recently attacked Russia using US-made long-range ATACMS missiles for the first time. The Russian Defense Ministry subsequently confirmed that its territory had been attacked, claiming that its air defense systems shot down five of six Atakam missiles over the Bryansk region. The depot where the attack took place is in the north of the Kursk region, where Russian forces are trying to drive out Ukrainian troops who have taken over about 600 square kilometers of Russian territory.
Biden gave exemption to Ukraine
The strikes came a day after US President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use Atakam missiles in Russia, in a major policy change before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
After getting permission to use missiles, this attack was carried out when Ukraine needed it. Ukraine was also in dire need of new weapons as its front lines were strong and Russian forces were making advances on the battlefield at a faster pace than at any time since 2022.
attack on kursk
Ukraine captured parts of Russia’s Kursk region in a surprise attack in August. But after making continuous gains in the area, Ukrainian troops had to retreat from the area in October. During this period, Russia had also made gains in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine.
North Korea with Russia
Russia has mobilized a force of about 50,000 troops, including 10,000 from North Korea, in a new effort to push the Ukrainians out of Kursk, according to Zelensky and Ukrainian and Western intelligence officials. Losing Kursk now would deprive Zelensky of an important bargaining chip in any upcoming negotiations with Russia.
What is the situation on the eastern border?
The Kremlin’s offensive has become an exhausting war. Both sides have dug in troops along the borders and the more than 1,000 km long border line from the southern Kherson region to Kharkiv in the north-east is similar. Because of this, the armies on both sides are facing a lot of difficulty in moving forward.
Panic in Russia and Ukraine before Trump comes to power
Military officers, soldiers and analysts say that important results can be seen in the war in the next few months. Because Ukraine will try to stabilize its security and strengthen its eastern position and Russia will try to consolidate its position as soon as possible. It is possible that if Trump comes to power, Ukraine may be forced to talk to Russia.
Who will Trump support?
At the same time, according to media reports, Ukraine is hoping that by the time Trump takes power, Russia will slow down its aggression and step back from its occupation tactics. Not only this, Ukraine feels that Trump will support them. Senior Ukrainian officials believe that by proving that they are “fighters” and “winners” the newly elected president will be willing to stand with them.
Ukraine is weakening
However, Ukrainian officials also believe that Ukraine is now facing shortage of manpower. There is a shortage of soldiers and the Russian army is proving to be more powerful. Ukraine is soon going to need to recruit more soldiers into its army. At the same time, people are not showing much interest in joining the army.
Russia has set a big condition for the agreement
As far as reaching an agreement is concerned, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he will be interested in talks only if Kiev accepts all his demands. The great thing is that it also includes extending Russia’s occupation to the entire four Ukrainian regions. It is believed that with the momentum in Moscow’s favor and the Ukrainians’ retreat, the Kremlin now has some reason to sit down for peace talks.
Russia is more profitable than Ukraine
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russia has captured more than 1,200 square km of territory in Ukraine since August. It covers twice the area of the Kursk region currently occupied by Kiev troops.
Russia’s attacks on infrastructure
Russia attacked Ukraine with about 120 missiles and 90 drones last Sunday in one of the largest air strikes of the war. It targeted power facilities in Ukraine, causing severe damage and causing the first emergency blackouts since the summer.
Zelensky said after the attack that Ukrainian air defenses – including anti-aircraft missiles, mobile fire units, electronic warfare groups and Western-supplied F-16 jets – shot down more than 140 of the Russian missiles. But many parts of the country are still without power as emergency teams work to restore services.
Drones were used extensively
It is noteworthy that drones have played an important role in this war. Both Russia and Ukraine have used unmanned drones as part of their military strategies. Ukraine has used drones to attack Russian soil this year, including an attack on the city of Moscow.
Recall that in 2023, Ukraine used drones to attack military facilities, munitions factories and energy infrastructure in Russia and it is estimated that a fifth of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was sunk due to such an attack. .
Russia’s strong attack on Ukraine
It is noteworthy that on February 24, 2022, the world woke up to the news that Russian missiles had attacked several targets in Ukraine and had used tanks to cross the border.
This attack by Russia took place even after warnings from Western intelligence agencies. It was believed that this would soon turn into the biggest conflict in Europe after the Second World War.
Russia captures Bakhmut in May 2023
Putin celebrated his first major victory since the early days of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in May 2023, when his forces captured Bakhmut after nine months of fierce fighting. This city was turned into ruins due to the war. It is believed that 30,000 people were killed in this battle.
