KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed that he recently had a phone conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden regarding the future support of Kyiv. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a visit to a military base near the Ukrainian border, as both countries strategize for the upcoming winter and next year’s combat operations.
The ongoing war, which has spanned nearly 20 months, has considerably depleted the military resources of both sides. Experts predict that the fighting will settle into a positional and attritional warfare during the approaching winter, with minimal changes along the extensive front line spanning over 1,000 kilometers (600 miles).
President Zelenskyy emphasized that his discussion with President Biden centered on securing a significant support package for Ukraine. The assistance provided by Western countries has been crucial to Ukraine’s war efforts.
President Putin, on the other hand, visited the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District, located less than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Ukraine’s southeastern border. There, he received a briefing on the ongoing conflict from the chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov.
Given the uncertainty surrounding the scale of future Western aid to Kyiv and the outcomes of Ukraine’s recently concluded counteroffensive, which greatly strained Russian reserves but had limited impact on their front-line defenses, both sides are now rushing to replenish their stocks for 2024.
According to Jack Watling, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London, Ukraine has been using over 200,000 rounds of ammunition per month. He highlighted the challenge of sustaining this rate of fire when NATO stockpiles are depleting and ammunition production rates remain insufficient to meet the demand.
Meanwhile, Watling observed that Russian ammunition production has experienced significant growth. For instance, Russia now produces more than 100 long-range missiles a month, compared to 40 a month a year ago.
Furthermore, reports suggest that Russia is receiving supplies from countries such as Iran, North Korea, and others.
While Ukraine’s counteroffensive has not led to significant breakthroughs against Russia’s formidable defenses, it has effectively hampered the Kremlin’s forces. Kyiv aims to sustain the pressure on Russia, which will stretch the manpower resources already under strain, according to the Institute for the Study of War in Washington.
According to the institute’s latest assessment, the Russian forces lack high-quality reserves and face challenges in generating, training, and deploying reserves to effectively fill gaps in the front line and carry out offensive operations.
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