The president could try to mislead the Kremlin, which would amount to an information war full of “losses and surprises.”
A statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about the unpreparedness of Ukraine’s armed forces for a counterattack may be aimed at misleading the enemy by lowering expectations of a future attack.
In his article about it write down Edition of The New York Times.
Zelenskyi said Ukraine needed more time to launch a counteroffensive because it still did not have enough military equipment from its Western allies.
“Ukrainian military and political analysts said Mr. Zelensky was right about the shortcomings ahead of the move, which Ukraine and its supporters believe will be a turning point in the war. But they also pointed to other possible motives for his comments: to increase supplies to pressure allies, It would mislead the Kremlin by lowering expectations of a counterattack Regarding Kiev’s intentions,” the article says.
They recalled that Ukraine’s political and military leaders had announced a counteroffensive to retake their territory for months, but did not specify exactly when or where the strike would be conducted. Some analysts predict that the Ukrainian counteroffensive will focus on the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, and not in the east of the Donbass, where heavy fighting has been going on for months.
Taras Schmut, head of the “Return Alive” Foundation, said that whatever the intentions of Zelensky’s statements, His comment about not being ready was correct. After all, despite the transfer of tens of thousands of dollars worth of weapons to the Ukrainian army Not enough equipmentEspecially artillery shells, armored vehicles and air defense systems.
According to Maria Tsolkina, head of the Department of Regional Security and Conflict Studies at the “Democratic Initiatives” Foundation, Zelensky’s words were “somewhat a political statement, “to compel Western allies to expedite these deliveries.”. The expert did not rule out that the president was trying to dampen overconfidence if the counteroffensive was “not as successful as expected.”
At the same time, “I will not rule out that this is an information tactic, as Ukraine is trying to hide its production,” Zolkina added.
“If Mr. Zelensky’s comments about waiting for the start of the campaign were an attempt to mislead, it would amount to an information war full of deceptions and surprises,” the article said.
In this context, the authors of the article recalled how in the fall of 2022, the Ukrainian army made it clear that it was planning a counteroffensive in the south, which forced Russia to move its troops there, exposing the security of the Kharkiv region. Instead, the Ukrainian military command attacked the Kharkiv region, surprised and defeated the Russians, and managed to liberate a large part of the territory.
Statements by Zelensky and other leaders about the counteroffensive of the armed forces
Earlier, The Washington Post reported on efforts by Ukrainian officials to play down hopes of a future counterattack due to concerns by Zelenskyi and Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. “Expectations of our counteroffensive campaign were exaggerated in the world,” Reznikov said.
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the presidential office, emphasized that the counterattack cannot be considered a major war. It can be a “series of activities”.
Zelensky also said that it is currently impossible to say whether Ukraine will be able to fully restore sovereignty after the counterattack.
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