West ‘jolted’ by Ukrainian armor losses – WSJ

Ukraine’s inability to breach Russian defensive lines in the first weeks of its much-lauded counteroffensive has forced a change of approach, according to the Wall Street Journal. Kiev’s troops are adapting to a new reality after Western-supplied armor failed to be the game changer they had hoped, the newspaper added.

The US and its allies supplied dozens of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine and trained thousands of its troops ahead of the push, which began last month. However, the “swift loss” of armor during the initial weeks of the campaign “jolted Ukraine and its Western backers,” the WSJ reported on Tuesday.

Ukrainian troops are now training “how to advance methodically on foot, moving from one line of trees to another,” and hope they will eventually find an opportunity for a major breakthrough, the newspaper wrote.

Russian minefields and air superiority and a shortage of Ukrainian supplies are among the factors playing against Kiev, according to the article. At the same time, the WSJ claimed that Russian troops are “vulnerable” and “generally less well prepared and supplied” than Ukrainian forces.

Some Ukrainian soldiers echoed their country’s leadership in blaming the West for not arming them fast enough with everything they believe they need. Western nations “blundered” by providing armor but not fighter jets and sufficient air-defense systems, a 49-year-old Ukrainian commander told the WSJ.

Frontline troops have been forced to adapt, including by constructing improvised weapons to use against the enemy. One unit’s “latest innovation” described by the newspaper was “a remote-controlled machine gun attached to the base of an electric wheelchair.” The invention had not been tested in battle at the time of writing, the WSJ noted.

Despite the setbacks, the morale of Ukrainian troops appeared high if somewhat fatalistic, judging by the report. One officer claimed that victory was the only option for his soldiers because “we’ve got nothing to lose” and would “all be dead” otherwise.

Moscow has accused the US of derailing last year’s peace talks with Kiev and forcing it into fighting “to the last Ukrainian.” It perceives the conflict as part of Washington’s proxy war against Russia, waged in an attempt to preserve its waning global power.

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