Military expert Oleg Zhdanov believes that Ukraine has a chance to hold the Soledar-Bakhmut line. At the same time, the stabilization of the front line for a long time would be unprofitable, since this break will give the enemy the opportunity to start a new war against Ukraine over time.
"I think that we have a chance to hold the Soledar-Bakhmut line. But the fact is that at this stage, Russia is trying to form, and at this stage, it imposed a positional war on us. They imposed it, but not because we are weak, but because they give us weapons like that. I would lay the responsibility in this case purely on our Western partners. That's how much they gave us weapons - our Armed Forces showed such capabilities on the battlefield," said military expert Oleg Zhdanov, answering a subscriber's question during a broadcast on YouTube.
According to him, now the front line has relatively stabilized. However, "shifts" are still possible in two directions.
“Yes, now the front line has more or less stabilized, except for the Donetsk direction and part of the Lugansk direction, where progress is still possible in one direction or another. I don’t even dare to guess, because the situation in Bakhmut is still all right, and in Soledar very tense and today, I would even say, unpredictable. Although there are chances to keep this line," he continued.
However, if the front line is stabilized, the goals of the war will not be achieved.
"No one wants a break anymore, no one wants to (wait - ed.) 8, 5 years, 3 years or a year, six months when Putin gathers a new army and goes to war again. Understand that until the goals of the war are achieved, it is not over. And any truce or cessation of hostilities is just a break in this war. Therefore, the West is more determined, and we are more determined. So it can become an illusion for Russia and most likely will become an illusion - the formation of a front line," the expert added .
Zhdanov stressed that Russia had lost its image so much that it no longer has a chance to persuade the West into negotiations with Ukraine.
“Yes, there are rumors again that Russia allegedly is preparing a negotiation process to stake out its achievements. No, the West today is not ready to stake out Russia’s achievements. Moreover, Russia has become so incapable of negotiating as a result of Putin’s policy in the international arena that The West is ready to tighten its belts, give us more weapons, but we must end this war. There must be a route. The Chinese Foreign Ministry concluded that Russia must become a weakened and minor power. So, no matter what Russia forms there, I think no one will stop this. Now the main question is to accumulate a reserve. We could have accumulated it earlier, but the question is the supply of weapons. Therefore, in these realities, we are accumulating the reserve necessary for conducting counter-offensive operations," the expert concluded.
