Ukraine may be gearing up for a new all-out counteroffensive.

A Ukrainian soldier fires a self-propelled artillery piece at Russian forces near Kherson (Photo: Reuters).

The German newspaper Welt quoted an expert as saying that Ukraine may be regrouping its forces with the aim of launching a new counteroffensive in 2024 after attacks since June failed to penetrate all layers of Russian defenses.

Nico Lange, a former German defense official and now a senior fellow at the Munich Security Conference, argues that despite growing pessimism in the West about Ukraine's progress on the battlefield, Kyiv still has a considerable amount of military equipment from the West and several new arms shipments are expected to arrive in the near future.

The expert suggested: "Ukraine may be preparing resources for a new counteroffensive next year," adding that Kyiv could launch a new offensive in the Kherson region.

Furthermore, German experts believe that Ukraine still has grand plans, as evidenced by the "ambitious" list of weapons that Kyiv has requested from the US, which includes attack helicopters, advanced fighter jets, long-range missile systems, Abrams tanks, and other equipment.

The German magazine Bild previously cited sources saying that Ukraine is drawing up a "new operational plan." The sources claimed that Ukraine's main objective in this plan is to inflict maximum damage on Moscow.

"Our goal is to achieve the highest possible rate of enemy soldier elimination," an unnamed officer told Bild.

This person stated that if Moscow's losses were 10:1 (meaning Russia lost 10 soldiers for every 1 Ukraine lost), then Kyiv would be able to advance. Meanwhile, if the ratio were 1:1, it would be disadvantageous for Ukraine.

Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in early June but has not made any significant progress despite being reinforced with large quantities of Western equipment.

Months after the attack, even top Ukrainian officials, including Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, began to admit that they had not achieved their objectives.

In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin estimated the loss ratio at 8 to 1 in favor of Moscow, and earlier this month, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu stated that Kyiv had lost more than 125,000 soldiers since the beginning of summer.

It is very difficult to accurately verify the information provided by the parties because they often tend to present figures that are unfavorable to the other side to serve their psychological warfare tactics.

Predictions have emerged recently that Ukraine might expand its offensive efforts in Kherson.

Ukraine has now held a bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper River, which has been under Russian control since October. Although holding this bridgehead carries numerous risks, Ukraine remains determined to hold out to the end against the relentless Russian attacks.

An unnamed Ukrainian soldier told the BBC that Kyiv's forces stationed on the left bank of the Dnieper River are facing a series of difficulties in maintaining the gains they have made after a long period of river crossing operations.

According to the unnamed military officer, Ukraine is facing a severe shortage of both personnel and weapons and equipment to defend these positions, while the soldiers fighting there are facing a barrage of fire from Russia.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/ukraine-co-the-dang-len-day-cot-cho-chien-dich-phan-cong-tong-luc-moi-20231217104618422.htm