- The situation in Ukraine is starting to improve, a retired British colonel said Wednesday.
- Ukraine has achieved several victories since being allowed to directly attack Russian military targets.
- Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin has also threatened retaliation against Ukraine's Western allies.
Allowing Ukraine to use its “wonder weapon” to directly attack Russian military targets is starting to turn the tide of the war in Kiev's favour, says a retired British colonel.
“For too long, Ukraine has had to fight off Russian aggression with one hand tied,” Hamish de Breton-Gordon wrote in an opinion piece in The Telegraph published on Wednesday.
A former military officer, de Bretton-Gordon held several positions during his 23-year career in the British Army, including commanding the UK's Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment from 2004 to 2006, and NATO's CBRN Ready Battalion from 2005 to 2007.
“But things are finally starting to change. Now, with permission from the West, and in particular the United States, Ukraine can attack targets further inside Russia,” de Bretton-Gordon said.
Politico reported last month that the Biden administration had given Ukraine permission to use U.S.-supplied weapons on Russian positions in Kharkiv, after Russian forces launched attacks on the area in May as part of their summer offensive on Ukraine's second-largest city.
“While the nature of the authorizations given still mandates that the Kharkiv front be prioritized (Washington is still afraid of giving Kiev carte blanche to attack anywhere), there is evidence that Ukrainian forces are now able to use other weapons stockpiles to attack elsewhere,” de Breton-Gordon wrote in the commentary.
The former colonel cited several of Ukraine's recent military achievements, including drone attacks on Russian naval vessels in Taganrog Bay and the Akhtubinsk airfield in southern Russia, which destroyed one of Russia's newest stealth Su-57 fighter-bombers.
“For too long, Kiev has been fighting a losing battle and has found itself in an impossible position, unable to attack Russian forces massing across the border,” de Breton-Gordon said. “But I think the situation is changing and the Kharkov front is beginning to turn in Kiev's favor.”
De Breton-Gordon said recent developments meant Russia could not afford to rely solely on a war of attrition.
“Russia cannot withstand the industrial-level casualties it is currently facing (more than 500,000 so far) no matter how good Russia's industrial complex is. In modern times, these figures are simply not sustainable,” he said.
But success on the Ukrainian battlefield risks inviting further Russian escalation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested last month that any European countries that encouraged Ukraine to attack Russia directly could face retaliation.
“So officials of NATO countries, especially those based in Europe and especially those based in small European countries, should be fully aware of what is at stake,” Putin told reporters on May 28.
“Russia should keep in mind that it is a small and densely populated country and should take this into account before talking about attacks deep inside Russian territory,” he added.
Representatives of the Ukrainian and Russian defense ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent by BI outside regular business hours.
