Status: 11.08.2023, 18:02 p.m.
By: Lukas Rogalla
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The war in Ukraine is increasingly weighing on the country. Despite small progress, frustration is growing among the population and the armed forces.
Kyiv – Destroyed cities, tens of thousands dead, millions displaced: The military conflict that has been raging in eastern Ukraine since 2014 has escalated into a major war as a result of Putin's attack – which is increasingly burdening the entire country. True, the defenders were able to expel the Russian invaders from the Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson regions in the first year of the war. But in the hopefully anticipated counteroffensive, which has been going on on several fronts for weeks now, progress has been small. Russian minefields in particular are causing problems for Ukrainian tanks and armed forces and slowing them down. The result: hardly any terrain gains, high losses.
Not only the allies who supply weapons and combat vehicles to Ukraine had hoped for faster progress. The US broadcaster CNN, which refers to government officials in the West, speaks of "unrealistic" expectations that would have contributed to this. Pressure is also apparently increasing within Ukraine, as reported by the Washington Post, among others.
Ukraine's counteroffensive falters: Frustration among soldiers in the fight against Russia grows
Frustration is spreading both among the civilian population, which has been at risk from Russian attacks almost throughout the country for 18 months, and among the armed forces. "We have all these men coming back from the front lines without limbs," one woman told The Washington Post. Her 52-year-old husband is in a wheelchair after stepping on a mine.
"I want the price they paid to be reasonable. Otherwise, it was just pointless what they went through." The man himself had this to say about service in the Ukraine war: "They take everyone with them and send them to the front without proper preparation. I don't want to be in the company of unmotivated people."
Offensive in the Ukraine war: Disappointment instead of unity and solidarity
A woman from the central Ukrainian city of Smila told the US newspaper that there is a feeling of collective "disappointment" where previously there was unity and solidarity even in the most difficult times. She is afraid that her husband and adult children will be drafted for service in the Ukraine war. Kiev is silent on the number of fallen Ukrainian soldiers. The woman told the Washington Post that they told each other on the street that soldiers would only last a few days shortly after being sent to the front.
A residential building destroyed after Russian attacks in Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. The civilian population continues to suffer in the war. © State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Imago
Despite all the criticism of Ukraine from its own people, all the anger is directed at Russia, whose troops are deliberately attacking the country's infrastructure and do not shy away from deadly attacks on civilians. Like on Tuesday (August 8) in Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. A Russian missile strike killed several people in her apartment. A second rocket followed, when emergency services had long been on site.
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Zelensky: Ukraine's counteroffensive "slower than some would like"
President Volodymyr Zelensky recently acknowledged that pressure on Ukraine is growing. "The counteroffensive is complex. It may be developing more slowly than some would like," he told South American media on Tuesday, referring to the current situation in the Ukraine war. Nevertheless, progress is being made overall: "This is an important, positive aspect. The initiative is in the hands of Ukraine." This is especially the case at the front near Bakhmut. Zelensky's advisor Mikhailo Podolyak had also called on critics to be patient.
The tactics of the Ukrainian armed forces in the counteroffensive also play a role – as they do not quite correspond to the ideas of the West and NATO. According to the report, Ukrainian commanders prefer advances by small groups.
The unit of a soldier who returned to Kyiv with injuries covered 400 meters in seven hours in one day in the Zaporizhzhia region – "and that was pretty fast," he told the Washington Post. A huge test of patience for Ukraine. (LRG)