Ukraine expects a large-scale attack by Russian forces on the front in the coming months. Vadim Skibitsky, deputy head of the central intelligence department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, stated this in an interview with The Economist magazine on May 2. According to his predictions, the Russian army will attack the east in May, after which it will increase its forces in the regions of Kharkiv and Sumy. The high-ranking general called the handover of Chasov Yar, the base of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donetsk region, “a matter of time.”
Skibitsky noted that Russia currently has 514,000 ground troops and plans to increase the number by recruiting reserves. In turn, Ukraine’s armed forces are suffering from a shortage of personnel and weapons. “It will be weeks before US aid reaches the front lines. “It is unlikely that it will be able to compare with the reserves of Russian shells or provide effective protection against Russia’s non-technological and destructive guided aerial bombs,” Skibitsky stated.
Skikitsky does not see a chance for Ukraine to win the war, only on the battlefield. “Even if Ukraine succeeds in pushing Russian troops back to pre-war borders, which is becoming an increasingly distant prospect, it will still not end the war. Such wars can only be ended by treaties.”
