2024-09-28 18:13:25
The war in Ukraine has gained new momentum in recent months, whether due to the unexpected incursion of the Ukrainian armed forces into Russian territory or the persistent advance of the occupiers in the Donetsk region. According to journalist Tomáš Vlach, who was a guest of the Spotlight show, the overall impression of the battlefields can still be described as a stalemate.
Journalist Tomáš Vlach evaluates the current situation on the Ukrainian battlefield | Video: The Spotlight Team
According to Tomáš Vlach, it was a mistake to assume that the Russians would run out of ammunition after months of intense shelling of cities and military targets. “We still see that there is something to terrorize the Ukrainian territory, moreover, there is still a deficit of air defense,” assesses the journalist, who made several trips to Ukraine during the war.
It was also a mistake to place excessive hopes in the F-16 fighter jets, which Ukraine is already using in combat, but the initiative did not bring the desired transfer to the side of the defenders. “It turned out that they are not the decisive element, they are more like a symbol,” explains the journalist in an interview with Zuzana Tvarůžková.
According to Vlach, what gives the Ukrainians a certain advantage on the battlefield is the fact that, thanks to Western technology, they can accurately hit military targets deep inside Russian territory. “It’s the decisive element, but it’s not the be-all and end-all,” he points out, pointing out that the Russians manage to move some of the potential targets beyond the range of the funds that Ukraine now has from the Americans.
According to Vlach, it would help in the current situation if the words of the former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny, who called for a radical rearmament of the entire Ukrainian army, were finally heard. “Modern means of the new generation, only this can reverse the development at the front,” concludes Vlach.
You can watch the entire interview in the video below or listen to it in your favorite podcast app.
00:08-06:41 Who is pulling the imaginary short end of the rope at this stage of the fight? Will Ukraine’s drone advantage continue and what kind of spillover news is coming from Kursk? And what contours is the war currently taking?
06:41-13:33 What is Ukraine’s weakest point now, and what hopes are Ukrainian soldiers clinging to? How does Tomáš Vlach access information from both sides of the front line? How successful are the Ukrainians in operating in the Russian rear in secret operations, and has the training of foreign agents paid off for the Ukrainians?
13:33-20:10 Where are the most sensitive places in Ukraine that Russia can exploit and what state of destruction is Ukraine now in? What is the mood in Ukrainian society now and is there a tendency to exchange peace for territorial concessions?
20:10-28:26 Is the pressure for political negotiation to end the fighting growing now, and does it differ between generations? How difficult is it now for the Ukrainian command to recruit additional members of the army, and what power do President Zelensky’s political outputs and proclamations of victory have today?
28:26-34:03 Why is Telegram a vital communication channel in the war in Ukraine? How powerful is the propaganda attacking Western companies operating in Ukraine? And what bothers Vlach about labeling and using the term “chcimir”?
Spotlight Aktuálně.cz – Tomáš Vlach | Video: The Spotlight Team