Military analyst, Colonel Petro Chernyk, believes that the current spring weather, which thaws the ground and turns it into mud, helps the Ukrainian army to defend itself, making it difficult for the enemy to move during offensive attempts.

He expressed this opinion on Apostrophe TV.

"For both sides, the weather is a determining factor, because the wet ground makes it impossible for heavy equipment to move.

Now the weather is more in our favor as we are on the defensive.

And we need to move less," the expert noted.

Instead, according to Chernyk, when the soil dries up and armored vehicles from Western partners arrive, conditions will be created for an active counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

He noted that the offensive of the Russian army in Donbas has slowed down, but it will take at least several weeks before it comes to a complete stop. 

According to the expert, the Russian invaders will continue to try to storm the positions of the Ukrainian troops in order to fulfill the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin to occupy the entire Donetsk region, which he will not cancel.

At the same time, they will throw more and more manpower into battle compared to equipment, despite the fact that such tactics have brought very modest advances.

Petro Chernyk noted that the Russian army's tendency not to spare people and save equipment is indicated by the statistics of last year's battles - in March, the invaders lost 3,900 soldiers and more than 900 pieces of equipment, in December - 21,000 soldiers and less than 300 pieces of equipment.

It will be recalled that the NATO leadership believes that the main goal of the expected offensive of the Ukrainian military will be to break through the corridor to the occupied Crimean peninsula.

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• Ukraine news

• War in Ukraine

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