{"id":88025,"date":"2025-05-12T14:36:41","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T14:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.estaql.com\/ukraine-and-zelenskyy-what-went-wrong-in-2023-and-what-next-world-news\/"},"modified":"2025-05-12T14:36:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T14:36:41","slug":"ukraine-and-zelenskyy-what-went-wrong-in-2023-and-what-next-world-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/ukraine-and-zelenskyy-what-went-wrong-in-2023-and-what-next-world-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine and Zelenskyy: What went wrong in 2023? And what next? | World News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ukraine and Zelenskyy: What went wrong in 2023? And what next? | World News<\/h2>\n
Ukraine and Zelenskyy: What went wrong in 2023? And what next? | World News<\/p>\n
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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy started 2023 full of optimism.<\/p>\n
In Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces had demonstrated they could push Russian invaders back, and Western confidence in Ukraine’s ability to prevail was growing.<\/p>\n
Despite the risks to domestic national security, Western nations donated huge quantities of weapons, ammunition and high-tech capability from national stockpiles to support Ukraine’s proposed counteroffensive.<\/p>\n
However, as 2023 ends and despite huge casualties, the Ukrainian offensive has done little to move the frontlines, and Russia appears on the front foot<\/strong> in the eastern Donbas region.<\/p>\n
What went wrong?<\/p>\n
The Ukrainian armed forces have proven amazingly resilient, courageous and determined in combating the military might of Russia. However, determination and resolve need to be matched with military equipment to create decisive military capability.<\/p>\n
Although Ukraine is not a member of NATO<\/strong>, the West recognised that Russia’s illegal invasion could be a precursor to a wider ambition and responded accordingly.<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n Image:<\/span> \n Ukrainian soldiers practice on a tank during training \n <\/span> \n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
However, the West was keen not to provoke a wider conflict between NATO and Russia. Growing confidence in Ukraine’s ability to strike back led to promises of Western tanks<\/strong>, ammunition, military training and high-tech precision weapons to support a Ukrainian spring offensive.<\/p>\n
Although Russia<\/strong> had not anticipated the level of Ukrainian resistance they encountered initially, they were not about to make the same mistake again. Delays to the provision of Western military support – specifically tanks – meant that this year’s “spring” offensive did not start until June.<\/p>\n
This delay enabled Russia to prepare a robust series of defensive lines – the Surovikin<\/strong> Line – comprising trenches, Dragon’s Teeth and minefields.<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n Image:<\/span> \n Ukrainian soldiers fire an L119 howitzer near Bakhmut \n <\/span> \n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Read more: From ‘out of his depth’ to Ukraine’s president in war ‘I went into the wolf’s lair to save my grandson’<\/strong><\/p>\n
In addition, not since 1917 has a major ground offensive been successfully conducted without air power. Despite President Zelenskyy’s best efforts, the West was not prepared to commit combatants to the conflict, and fighter jets alone would not have provided the capability Ukraine needed.<\/p>\n
Indeed, without highly trained pilots, engineers, armourers and fighter controllers, simply donating F-16s risked providing Russia with some high-value aerial target practice.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian morale has been buoyed by a series of attacks against Russian resupply lines, oil infrastructure, military HQs and ammo dumps across the year, most notably destroying 20% of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet<\/strong> despite not having a functioning Ukrainian navy.<\/p>\n
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