Lately, much of the war reporting from Ukraine has been about how their counteroffensive failed.
At the same time, Ukraine has recently carried out several successful counterattacks.
– It is something that shows Ukrainian ability and is needed when the counter-offensive has stalled, says former lieutenant colonel Jörgen Elfving.
Despite a counteroffensive that was not the success Ukraine had hoped for, the Ukrainian counterattacks show that the country still has the ability to successfully defend its country, says former lieutenant colonel Jörgen Elfving.
– We have two Ukrainian successes in the near future, it is the sinking of the landing ship and then there is the shooting down of Russian fighter jets.
Yesterday the Russian amphibious assault ship Novocherkassk was sunk, and in the past week five Russian fighter jets have been shot down. But Jörgen Elfving thinks it is too early to say that the fortunes of the Ukrainian war would have turned.
“No success since Bachmut”
– It may not have turned, but on the other hand there are examples of Ukrainian successes that show that Ukraine still has the ability to do something positive.
Jörgen Elfving believes that Russia has not had any notable military successes since they took Bachmut in May.
– Then it wasn’t the Russian regular forces that took the city, it was the Wagner group that did it, so I have a feeling that people feel pressure to show off some kind of military success.
Dismisses reports of ceasefire
Recently, there were alleged leaks that Russia is open to a ceasefire that freezes the conflict with Ukraine along the current battle lines. It is something that Jörgen Elfving dismisses as an attempt to divide the West and support for Ukraine.
– Should Ukraine lose in this war, it will have consequences for the entire Western world. In the worst case, we end up in a frozen situation that leads to a new war in a number of years, or that if Russia now sees that it is succeeding, it will turn its eyes elsewhere, for example the Baltics.