Kiev still has “big plans” underpinned by Western equipment not yet destroyed, the report says
Ukraine could be gathering forces to launch a fresh counteroffensive in 2024 after its first push, which started this summer, failed to break Russian lines, Welt reported on Friday, citing a German expert.
In an interview with the German daily, Nico Lange, a former German defense official who is now a senior fellow at the Munich Security Conference, suggested that despite the growing pessimism in the West about Ukraine’s progress on the battlefield, Kiev still maintains a decent amount of military equipment, with more deliveries expected to arrive from the West.
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![German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/files/2023.12/thumbnail/657d927d2030273e9a57238d.jpg)
“Ukraine is probably gathering resources for a new counteroffensive next year,” the expert suggested, adding that Kiev may begin the new push in the Kherson area and attempt to cross the Dniepr River in force.
Meanwhile, the report noted that Ukraine “still has big plans,” explaining that those aspirations are evidenced by Kiev’s wish list submitted to the US, which includes attack helicopters, advanced fighter jets, long-range missile systems, Abrams tanks, and other equipment.
At the same time, Bild reported on Friday, citing sources, that Ukraine was drawing up a “new war plan.” According to the magazine, Kiev has shelved plans to push Russia out of the territories it claims as its own and is instead focusing on inflicting maximum losses on Moscow.
“Our goal is to have the kill ratio as positive as possible,” an unnamed officer told Bild, adding that if Kiev achieved a ratio of losses of 10 to 1 in its favor, it would advance, while a ratio of 1 to 1 would ultimately mean retreat.