The front line in Ukraine is over 1,200 kilometers. Fighting is taking place in the south near Kherson, in the south-east near Zaporozhye, as well as in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east. Luhansk is almost entirely under the control of the Russian army, and the situation in many hot spots of the conflict is dramatic, Ukrainian commanders and soldiers say.
Scorched earth tactics
"Russian forces are intensifying their offensive, dropping heavy bombs from the air more and more often, which devastate cities and villages," Ukrainian military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko commented to ARD. The media also quotes soldiers from the town of Chasov Yar, who say that there is nothing left to defend.
The Russian army applies the "scorched earth" tactic. More than a third of the fighting is taking place in the Pokrovsk region, and in the Donetsk region they continue to bombard entire areas. The northeastern border areas around Sumy and Chernihiv are under constant shelling. The Russian army is taking advantage of its air superiority, Kovalenko summarizes.
Russia uses destructive floating bombs, which are silent, as well as kamikaze drones against Ukrainian positions in the Donetsk region, Serhiy Osachuk, who is an officer of the border forces in Kramatorsk, explained to ARD. The Russian army also uses gas bombs and gas grenades, which are prohibited by international law. The Ukrainian army published results of radiochemical intelligence, according to which Russia used munitions with banned chemical compounds 715 times in May 2024.
F-16 deliveries could lead to a turnaround?
Despite the pressure, Osachuk said that the successes of Russian troops could have been prevented - for example, with the help of Ukrainian and foreign unmanned systems. At the same time, the Russian side is losing many soldiers and military equipment, Ukraine claims.
Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandra Ustinova says the general consensus now is that the delivery of F-16 fighter jets could dramatically improve the situation in which Ukrainian defenses have fallen, even as training of Ukrainian pilots in the US is lagging. According to the "New York Times" Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands have committed to delivering more than 60 F-16s to Ukraine by the end of the year. However, it is not yet clear when they will be able to be used in the war. At the moment, eight Ukrainian pilots are trained in the American state of Arizona, and another 12 - in Denmark, which is extremely insufficient. At the NATO summit, Zelensky criticized the delay in the delivery of fighter jets. Ukraine needs 128 fighter jets, as Russia can count on 300 on a daily basis. Ukraine is forced to constantly wait, Zelensky said.
Russia has long been preparing for the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Since June 2024, the Kremlin has systematically attacked military airports in the country. According to British intelligence, these attacks are related precisely to the upcoming deliveries of combat aircraft.
The strike against a children's hospital - a show of force
Air defense suffers from deficits, warns the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army Oleksandr Sirsky. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult for commanders to find trained and motivated soldiers. Many of the soldiers who have accumulated experience in Donbas since 2014 have died, says military expert Gustav Gressel of the European Foreign Policy Council. Ukraine has well-trained fighters, but also many amateurs. "This is the problem of any mobilized army," Gressel explains. At the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian army had the opportunity to fight more flexibly. Now she is faced with the challenge of defending a fixed front line that is divided into different sectors.
Kiev says the attack on a children's hospital earlier this week was a sign from Russia to NATO that it was intended to show force. The cruise missile attack shows that Ukraine needs high-quality air defense similar to the one Israel has, military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko believes. Kovalenko hopes the West will allow Ukraine to use the supplied high-tech weapons to attack targets on Russian soil. "With the delivered ATASMS missiles, Ukraine could reach airports in Russia," he commented.