At the just-concluded operational meeting of the Ukrainian General Staff, the Ukrainian army made an astonishing decision to cancel the previously failed strategic major ** and switch to strategic defense on the spot instead. This means that Ukraine's strategic offensive plan has become unrealizable, and the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield will enter a stage of strategic attrition.
The command of the Ukrainian army decided to build a 2,000-kilometer-long defense system in depth in order to respond to a possible Russian attack. This defense system includes the construction of new strategic defense lines in Avdiivka, Kupyansk, Redman, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson region and other places, as well as the construction of a comprehensive defense line on the Russian-Ukrainian border and the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. The strategic line of defense is planned to cost $10 billion and is expected to be completed by August next year.
The strategic defense of the Ukrainian army will consist mainly of a system of stretches of mines, anti-tank trenches and deep trenches. The design of this strategic line of defense is based on the "Surovikin Line" built by the Russian army. Although there is nothing special about it, the construction of this line of defense is crucial for the Ukrainian army, which will provide Ukraine with a relatively stable defense system.
Due to the strategic failure of the Ukrainian army, the Ukrainian battlefield has fallen into a stalemate for the second year since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Judging from the entire battlefield, although the Russian army is extremely heavy, it still shows resilience and combat effectiveness. Ukraine, by contrast, faces a lack of stamina and could struggle to survive without sufficient external support from the West.
The strategic offensive posture of the Ukrainian army has come to an end, and the reason is not because Russia will make any concessions to the West, but because the United States and NATO can no longer afford to be largerMilitaryHuge attrition on offense. This war, which lasted almost 700 days, almost exhausted the armaments of Western countries and gave them theEconomyA serious blow was done. Moreover, on the battlefield of Ukraine, the WestThe image has also suffered enormously damaged.
In order to be able to end this war with dignity, Western countries are now beginning to look for all kinds of "decent excuses" to try to prove that they have achieved a "final victory" in this war against the Russians. NATO Secretary General StoltenBergAt a press conference, it was said that Ukraine has given in the past 21 months of conflictRussian armyHuge losses were inflicted and some of the occupied territories were recaptured. Such rhetoric is seen by Western countries as a definition of "victory", but there is no mention of the price Ukraine has paid for it.
In fact, in order to achieve a certain goal, Western countries even did not hesitate to lose their own face and define such a "victory" for Ukraine. They don't want this conflict to continue, so more evidence of "victory" needs to be organized to prove to taxpayers back home what they have paidEconomyThe price is valuable.
However, the Ukrainian battlefield has reached a stalemate, with neither side able to make a large-scale breakthrough, and most of the battlefield is a tug-of-war. Therefore, many experts on international issues believe that in the future, an armistice agreement may be signed in the form of a "38th parallel" partition, and the two sides will suspend the conflict. However, this requires consensus at the negotiating table, not just verbal declarations.
In short, the battlefield in Ukraine has undergone drastic changes, Zelensky has issued a strategic defense order, and the Ukrainian army has abandoned its previous strategic plan. Due to the lack of stamina of the Ukrainian army, Western countries are no longer willing to continue to provide military aid, and they want to end this conflict in a decent way. However, a real solution requires finding consensus at the negotiating table.