Russian summer offensive ‘doomed to fail’

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1. ***The Telegraph reports***:

   Ukraine is bracing itself for another Russian onslaught.

   Moscow’s forces have stepped up their attacks on Ukrainian positions, and Kyiv has warned that reserves are massing in preparation for a major push.

   But Vladimir Putin’s hopes to seize more land before signing a ceasefire are doomed to fail, experts believe, as his army remains plagued with problems, dysfunction and incompetence.

   Russian forces, observers warn, are running low on tanks and armoured vehicles and would be unable to capitalise on any minor gains it might achieve.

   Furthermore, due to Ukraine’s ability to strike with drones, it is unlikely Russia would be able to get enough troops into position to achieve a breakthrough.

   Dmytro Zhmailo, the executive director of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre, told The Telegraph: “For now, any offensive by Russia on the frontline is impossible.

   “Russia does not have any big military victories on the frontline, so they want to give the impression that there are huge movements and advantages. We do not see this on the ground.”

   Last month, Volodymyr Zelensky and G7 officials warned that Russia was preparing for a renewed assault, with fears that Putin could zone in on the Sumy and Kharkiv regions. If they were captured, it could give Putin an upper hand at the negotiating table come future talks.

   On Wednesday, Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine’s military chief, said the offensive had “already begun”, noting that the number of Russian attacks had doubled in recent weeks. Ukraine has been keen to draw attention to the possible advances as the attention on a peace deal has drifted from Donald Trump’s agenda.

   But John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the scaling-up in attacks was unlikely to result in any meaningful gains.

   “What we’re seeing is just a surge in assault tempo … It’s very small scale,” he said. “They can chop a hole in the Ukrainian line, but they’re not able to punch through that hole and achieve a rapid, operational, significant breakthrough.”

   **Full story:** [**https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/04/11/russian-summer-offensive-doomed-to-fail-ukraine/**](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/04/11/russian-summer-offensive-doomed-to-fail-ukraine/)

2. >Mr Zhmailo said Russia’s key advantage over Ukraine lies in its overwhelming troop numbers. Last week, Putin ordered another 160,000 Russian citizens to be called up to serve in the military.

   >But Mr Hardie said these troops do not receive much training, which is at most a month and sometimes as little as days.

   >“That’s the conscious choice that Russia is making to keep the pressure on Ukraine, to throw these troops into the proverbial meat grinder without taking the time to invest in rebuilding force quality while the war continues.”

   This is what winning looks like, according to Trump.

3. Let’s make sure it does!

4. ……really….

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