The plains seem to favor Russia’s harsh advantage in weapons. But as a defensive force, Ukraine has an advantage in striking from fortified positions on Russian troops as they advance over open ground and in artillery range.
Both sides are gathering troops for a major battle, with Russian forces regrouping after being routed and driven out of Kyiv, and their units fragmented by heavy casualties and loss of equipment.
Overall, Russia has increased the number of battalion battalions in the east to 40 – to 40,000 – from 30 this month, with more reinforcements along the way, Pentagon officials said. Moscow has withdrawn about 40,000 troops from northern Ukraine to reorganize, rearm and supply them to Russia and Belarus, and is expected to move at least part of the east through Russia in the next few weeks.
Ukraine’s army in the east was estimated at about 30,000 troops before Russia’s invasion. After repelling the Russian attack on Kyiv, elite military units were redeployed to eastern Ukraine, but it is now difficult to assess the size and strength of Ukrainian forces there. The units are smaller and more mobile than the Russians, and the government has not disclosed details about their movements.
In this new phase of the war, Ukrainians will need a new arsenal of weapons – especially long-range artillery and missile systems. They will also require more armored vehicles to protect their forces and draw artillery to the front lines.
Western countries are meeting this need. Slovakia this week provided Ukraine with a powerful long-range anti-aircraft missile system, the S-300. And on Wednesday, President Biden announced a $ 800 million military aid package for Ukraine, which for the first time included more powerful weapons, including 18,155-millimeter howitzers, 40,000 artillery pieces of ammunition and 200 armored personnel carriers.
Western weapons have caught Russia’s attention. Moscow has sent an official diplomatic note of protest to warn the United States of the “unpredictable consequences” of supplying such weapons, US officials said on Friday.