Following a harsh winter, Ukraine has gained the strategic initiative in the war, successfully thwarting a large-scale Russian summer offensive and inflicting significant damage on Russia through operational and strategic strikes.
This view was expressed in an interview with Ukrinform by Colonel of the Austrian Armed Forces, Head of the Institute for Basic Officer Training at the Theresian Military Academy, Markus Reisner.
“In my opinion, Ukraine currently holds the strategic initiative. It emerged from a very difficult winter and was able to carry out preparatory measures in the spring to prevent the Russian summer offensive from unfolding,” Reisner noted.
According to him, Ukraine has so effectively thwarted the expected Russian summer offensive that Russian troops have been unable to make a large-scale advance. “Yes, they are carrying out isolated operations at the tactical level, but not in the form they had anticipated,” the expert noted.
Reisner also highlighted the effectiveness of Ukrainian strikes against Russian targets. “In my opinion, we are also seeing for the first time that Putin can no longer deny it: Ukrainian strikes at the operational and, above all, strategic levels are inflicting enormous damage,” he emphasized.
