Ukraine has 6-8 weeks of favorable weather for counter-offensive, says White House
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Ukrainian forces have a window of opportunity lasting 6-8 weeks to continue their counter-offensive against Russian aggression, the Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the U.S. National Security Council, John Kirby, said during a recent briefing on Oct. 3.
Kirby emphasized the importance of maximizing this timeframe, noting that the weather conditions would soon become less favorable for combat operations on both sides.
“Time is not our friend. We’ve got six to eight more weeks of good weather here before things really make it hard for both sides, quite frankly, to fight. We want to make sure that we take advantage of that,” Kirby said.
Addressing concerns about the sustainability of Ukraine’s counter-offensive in the face of potential reductions in U.S. support, Kirby assured that there would be continued support in the coming weeks. He stated that the Pentagon still has unused funds, amounting to several billion dollars, allocated for this purpose.
Kirby underscored that the United States has been providing security assistance to Ukraine approximately every two weeks, and this support will persist in the near future.
He also cautioned against the possibility of a “tough roadblock” in Ukraine’s combat operations should additional funding from the U.S. Congress not be secured, emphasizing that any loss of funding would not be in Ukraine’s best interest.
The U.S. official acknowledged that the Ukrainian counter-offensive may not have advanced as far or as quickly as desired, but emphasized there was ongoing fierce fighting in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine.
Kirby highlighted the necessity for a robust production capacity to support the scale and scope of combat operations and the expenditure of ammunition, a capability that only the United States can provide.
“It’s really important that we stay in this fight with Ukraine and that we continue to lead the world, as we have under President Biden’s leadership, in providing their support,” Kirby concluded.
Ukrainian counter-offensive — The latest
A new phase of Ukraine’s counter-offensive is continuing, with the main thrust in the southeast, where Ukrainian forces were gradually advancing through minefields and under Russian airstrikes, U.S. newspaper the New York Times reported earlier.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, responding earlier to criticism of the “slow pace” of the counter-offensive, told U.S. officials that Ukrainian forces were on the verge of a breakthrough in the south, U.S. newspaper the Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 24, citing an unnamed U.S. official.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry confirmed the liberation of the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhya Oblast by the Ukrainian military on Aug. 28. Ukrainian forces have since been advancing further towards the Novodanylivka-Verbove area in southern Ukraine.
Now Ukrainian forces are moving further towards Novoprokopivka, Ocheretuvate, and have had success near Verbove.
Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the Tavria operational group in the southern part of the country, confirmed on Sept. 2 that Ukrainian forces had breached the first Russian defense line in Zaporizhzhya Oblast.
Ukrainian forces have also liberated part of the village of Opytne south of the front-line town of Avdiyivka in Donetsk Oblast, now former Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Sept. 11.
Ukrainian forces liberated Klishchiyivka near Bakhmut on Sept. 17.
A major breakthrough in the counter-offensive would begin if Ukrainian forces were to liberate Tokmak in Zaporizhzhya Oblast, Tarnavskyi has said.
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