West broke its promise to Ukraine
Czech leader Petr Pavel claimed that Kiev had never received sufficient supplies of artillery ammunition and long-range missiles.
Czech President Petr Pavel said the West was hampering Ukraine’s ability to conduct large-scale military operations by not providing enough weapons.
In an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Monday, the Czech leader accused the West of not doing enough to support Ukraine’s faltering counteroffensive to reclaim former territories from Russia.
He added: “Unfortunately, we did not fulfill our promises to provide the Ukrainians with artillery ammunition and training on F-16 aircraft.” [fighter jets] “It’s not going as fast as it should.” said Pavel, a former NATO general.
He added that while France and the UK have supplied Kiev with long-range Storm Shadow missiles – which Russian officials say have been used to target civilian infrastructure – Germany has so far been slow to follow suit and send its own long-range Taurus missiles.
He added: “This creates an imbalance in deliveries and uncertainty on the Ukrainian side is not a good basis for military planning.” The Czech President stated.
Peter also pointed to his warning last July that Ukraine had only one opportunity to launch a major counterattack, because it already had. “Expensive, demanding and time consuming” And for political considerations.
He added: “My reasoning is based on the observation that next year there will be elections in Russia and the United States, and perhaps also in Ukraine.” He said. Next winter, Pavel suggested “Very difficult” For Ukraine due to severe damage to infrastructure caused by Russian strikes.
Countries will also become more reluctant to support Ukraine “Frustration will grow” The Czech leader claimed, adding that He added: “Naturally, this creates a very unsuitable situation for continuing counter-offensive operations.”
According to Pavel, the winter will give Russia time to recover and rebuild its army, after its military production has already increased significantly.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive has been underway since early June, but has failed to make any tangible progress, despite being supported by a large amount of NATO equipment.
In late October, Moscow claimed that Kiev had lost more than 90,000 soldiers since the offensive began, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Ukraine’s losses had reached more than 13,000 soldiers in November alone.
Valery Zalozhny, Ukraine’s top general, recently said hostilities had reached a World War I-style stalemate, with many Ukrainian officials blaming their difficulties on delays in Western arms deliveries, which had allowed Moscow to erect formidable defences.
