The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmitry Kuleba, has stated that the use of reconnaissance drones has served as another reason for the failure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counteroffensive. He was quoted by RIA Novosti.
According to the minister, one of the biggest challenges in the counteroffensive, which took place in the summer of 2023, was that both Russian and Ukrainian military forces utilized reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) connected to combat drones. Both sides employed UAVs “on such a scale” that fighters “physically could not move because as soon as you step out of the forest or trench, you are immediately detected by a reconnaissance drone, which sends a message” to the combat UAV, resulting in your elimination.
Earlier, The Washington Post reported that the failure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counteroffensive was due to a lack of air support and a high number of ambushes. According to the publication, this information was conveyed to the then head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, by the former Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Alexei Reznikov.
Prior to this, an advisor to the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Mikhail Podolyak, stated that the failure of the counteroffensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces was due to the speed of deliveries of Western weaponry.
Earlier in Germany, it was announced that Ukraine plans to launch a new counteroffensive in 2024.
