Will Zelensky decide to attack: there is a chance, but the ending is sad — expert

Kiev will conduct local offensive actions, but a large-scale counteroffensive is doubtful due to Russia's growing advantage. About this Pravda.Vasily Kashin, Senior researcher at the HSE Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies, said.

Earlier, journalist Christoph Wanner on the Die Welt TV channel said that Volodymyr Zelensky was losing ground and could decide on a new large-scale counteroffensive, even if it would require great sacrifices to keep power.

Kashin noted that Ukraine will try to conduct offensive and counter-offensive actions throughout the conflict. According to him, at the moment the Armed Forces of Ukraine are focused on attempts to stop the advance of Russian troops in the areas of Pokrovsk and Kupyansk.

"The success of a possible counteroffensive depends on many factors — preparation, availability of reserves, technology and the factor of surprise. However, now Russia has a significant and growing advantage, so it is impossible to predict Kiev's actions. In some areas, the situation may develop unpredictably, but strategically the initiative remains for Moscow," Kashin stressed.

The expert stressed that the possibility of new offensive actions by Kiev directly depends on the availability of reserves and resources of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. If there are no such opportunities, Kashin noted, the Ukrainian army will not be able to go on an active offensive and will lose the initiative at the front.