Colonel: Very difficult for Ukraine to maintain current frontline

The lack of military aid is pushing Ukraine into a critical situation with air defense and artillery shells, making it difficult to maintain the frontline at its current length, said Estonian Defense Forces' Col. Janno Märk.
The Russian troops still hold the initiative and attack pace on the front in various directions and Ukraine is forced into strategic defense, Märk told Sunday's "Ukraina stuudio".
Ukrainian forces need air defense and artillery shells, he said, and Russia is exploiting the situation. One example, is Russia's recent attacks on Ukraine's energy and civilian infrastructure.
"Russia is certainly trying to take advantage of a certain stagnation or insecurity in Western military assistance, intensify air strikes, drone strikes during this period, in order to also sway the West's will to help Ukraine," said Märk.
The colonel highlighted an interview given by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week in which he said the front had been stabilized, but that Ukraine would not be able to withstand a new major attack.
Discussions about a Russian offensive this spring have already started but it is difficult to assess whether it will happen, Märk said. However, it is known that Russia mobilizes approximately 30,000 men per month and has been doing so for a year and a half.
"This force is certainly not at the same level of training and equipment as at the beginning of the war. If you look at the live mass, they likely have some capacity to at least maintain the current rate of attack and perhaps open up some new directions. But it is rather difficult to assess the likelihood of this," Märk said.
Ukraine's air defenses have been redirected from the frontline and are being used to protect cities and critical infrastructure, he added.
"Air defense is a very critical gap of which Ukraine needs to be given more. And artillery shells," stated Märk.
Ukraine is building defense lines and has been doing so since 2014, but without military assistance, the defense lines must be drawn together, he said.
"If U.S. military aid does not increase, Ukraine will still have to retreat, or give up certain areas, or shorten the front, because at its current length it will be very difficult for Ukraine to maintain it with current resources," Märk said.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Marko Tooming, Helen Wright
Source: Ukraina stuudio, interviewed by Epp Ehand