German media: three major deficiencies lead to the inferior position of the Ukrainian army in Kharkov

Reported on May 20 by the reference news website On May 16, the website of Der Spiegel, a weekly magazine in Germany, published an article entitled "Why Ukraine cannot stop Russia's progress". The article is excerpted as follows:

On May 10, the Russian army marched into the Kharkov region from the north, and the military situation Ukraine is facing has further deteriorated.

For the Russian army, it is a success to open up a new front near this big city. The warning of this attack has been going on for some time. Gustav Greisel, a military expert of the European Commission on Foreign Relations, said that the situation had become clear from May 4 at the latest (six days before the Russian attack): an attack was imminent. So, what's wrong with Ukraine? Three of them are particularly critical.

First, there is a lack of weapons.

The Russian army was able to concentrate its forces in the border areas without hindrance. According to Uzbekistan, Russia has sent 50000 soldiers, 30000 of whom were put into attack. Why didn't Ukraine stop the attack? One reason is that the United States prohibits Ukraine from using the weapons it provides to attack targets in Russia. The Ukrainians could have stopped the enemy before Russia launched an attack with the help of the US "Hippocampus" rockets. However, as the Russian army gathers outside the territory of Ukraine, it will not be hurt by this weapon.

Second, there is a lack of defense.

A controversial issue is whether appropriate fortifications have been established in the combat areas. In fact, three defense lines should be built along the entire front of 2000 kilometers. The Ukrainian government claimed to have provided about 800 million euros for this purpose. It was not until April that President Zelensky inspected the construction of facilities in Kharkov.

Denis Yaroslavsky, a Ukrainian officer from the fierce war in Vouchansk, complained on Facebook: "There is no first line of defense and no mines." In fact, someone accused corruption in the construction of military facilities. Strictly speaking, corruption allegations only involve the third line of defense built by private companies, which the Russians have not yet reached. The front line is built by engineers or ordinary troops. But even the simplest facilities seem to be missing. Yuri Boutusov, a famous military blogger, wrote that although Vouchansk was only 5 kilometers away from the Russian border, he did not see any trenches or bunkers here.

Third, there is a lack of troops.

But one of Ukraine's biggest problems is the lack of personnel. Franz Stefan Gadi, a military expert, said: "The Uzbek army has enough soldiers to guard the front defense line, but they lack troops that can be used behind the defense line." Therefore, it is more difficult to counter attack after the defense is broken. Military expert Greisel said: "Some troops at the forefront have obviously given up resistance, while the reserve forces were adjusted too late to counter attack."

Now, Ukraine has sent more troops to strengthen the Kharkov front. The problem faced by the defenders was that they could not maintain sufficient forces along the whole front line due to the lack of sufficient mobilization. Gadi said that this is exactly what the Russians expect. "They hope to disperse the Urumqi troops on the front line."

Therefore, the Russian army's advance to the north of Kharkov is part of the overall plan. Its purpose is not to capture Kharkov, but to advance to Dunbas, which is also in fierce battle. Grexel concluded: "We can say for sure that the long awaited Russian summer offensive has now begun." (Compilation/Nie Litao)