British Defense Secretary on Ukraine War
«Putin’s plans A, B and C have failed»
Britain’s Defense Secretary believes Putin’s army is in bad shape. The President of the Ukraine Zelenskiy was also confident of victory recently – but at the same time called for more weapons from the West.
Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin (69) had actually planned to take Ukraine in a few days. The blitzkrieg failed. The war has now lasted more than five months. Putin’s troops are now concentrated in eastern Ukraine. But here, too, the offensive comes to a standstill. The resistance is too great.
For British Defense Minister Ben Wallace (52) it is clear: the Russian military is in bad shape. In an interview with “Sky News”, the Brit explained: “The Russians are currently failing on the ground in many areas.” Accordingly, “Putin’s Plan A, B and C” failed, which is why the war leader would now “look around for Plan D”. Morale within the troops is low.
In addition, there is a lack of supplies. The Russian military is suffering from a shortage of personnel. Therefore, the new recruits would be brought to the front quickly – after only a few days of training. But not only strategic, but also technical issues are causing Putin’s invasion to falter. The British secret service recently reported that reports of broken Russian military vehicles would accumulate.
Important delivery of arms from Germany
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (44) has recently expressed confidence that Ukraine will win the war. “We are citizens of the strongest country in the world,” he said in a speech. “We will not become a new legend of heroic resistance, but a victorious state.”
According to its own statements, Ukraine has so far lost control of around 20 percent of its territory. So Zelensky demanded more heavy weapons from the West to stop the Russian attacks and recapture occupied territories.
Only recently, Ukraine received an important shipment of arms from Germany. Specifically, there are three Cheetah tanks, three self-propelled howitzers and multiple rocket launchers of the Mars II type, an abbreviation for “medium artillery rocket system”. The missiles in particular are likely to worry the Russian army.
Mars can hit targets up to 84 kilometers away. Up to 12 missiles can be fired within 55 seconds. And the German Ministry of Defense has already announced that it will send more war material to Ukraine. The defenders of Germany are to receive 16 so-called Biber tanks that can lay bridges.
Russians practically powerless against rocket launchers
The United States is also busy supplying arms to Ukraine. Most recently, the Americans gave the Ukrainian army multiple rocket launchers called Himars (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System). The rocket launchers are modern, light and precise – even at long ranges. the Himars have a range of 80 kilometers.
According to the manufacturer, Himars can fire multiple rockets at high speed and then retreat so the enemy can’t target the rocket launchers.
The US-supplied M142 Himars multiple rocket launcher systems give Ukraine an advantage. Because the Russian missile defense system S-400 has practically no chance.
Not least because of the heavy weapons from the West, Ukraine can probably maintain its defense against Russia. While Putin’s fighters were initially concentrating on eastern Ukraine due to a lack of success, they now want to attack the whole country again. (AFP/obf)