Russia is suffering from shortages of ammunition and troops to launch a large-scale offensive in Ukraine, a senior NATO member was quoted as saying by Reuters. According to him, Moscow needs to secure significant supplies of ammunition from countries other than those that supplied it until now, BTA writes.
"What we see now are still big losses for Russia. Russia is trying to seize territories. We see a significant improvement in Ukrainian defenses,” he added, but pointed out that China continues to provide "critical elements" on drones, missiles and the Russian defense industry.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also indicated that Russian President Vladimir Putin "still thinks time is on his country" and is prepared to suffer a "truly staggering number of war casualties". Russia is recruiting about 30,000 troops a month, allowing it to sustain heavy losses on the battlefield, the representative recalled, and said he expected Moscow to be able to maintain its military economy for another three to four years.
Kiev's forces have been retreating for months as Russian troops maintain heavy offensive pressure and slowly advance into eastern Ukraine. It will now “take some time” for Ukraine to assemble the necessary ammunition and personnel to launch a large-scale offensive, the NATO source said.
In connection with the expected aid, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the three-day summit of the leaders of the member countries of the alliance in Washington.
The NATO official also said that Russian authorities have been conducting a covert campaign in Europe, including assassination plots, sabotage and arson, to undermine public support for Ukraine. The alliance responded to the sabotage by releasing two statements warning Moscow that it was aware of what it was doing.
The pact has greatly increased the exchange of intelligence between alliance members so that "we have a common picture of what is going on," said the anonymous official quoted by Reuters.