General Giorgio Battisti explains to Fanpage.it what the implications on the battlefield could be of the massive aid package approved by Washington for Ukraine, including the Atacms missiles: “Stocks to give Kiev confidence but do not allow it to be able to resume a offensive”.
Interview with General Giorgio Battisti
Former commander of the NATO Rapid Reaction Army Corps in Italy
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“The new ones US military aid to Ukraine, including i Atacms missiles, they were used to slow down the Russian offensive and to wear down Moscow’s war effort but I don’t think they allow Kiev to be able to resume an offensive because in addition to materials, well-trained soldiers and military personnel are also needed”, so the General Giorgio Battisti explains to Fanpage.it what the battlefield implications of the massive aid package approved by Washington for Ukraine could be. The material promised and partly already sent to Kiev, according to the general, “will allow the Ukrainians to be able to resist with greater conviction in the hope that sooner or later some ceasefire initiative can lead to some results at a diplomatic level”.
The USA has given the green light to a new substantial aid package for Ukraine, in particular there is talk of the Atacms missiles which have already been sent and used. What could be the consequences on the battlefield?
The US aid package to Ukraine will undoubtedly contribute to allowing Kiev’s armed forces to resist this Russian offensive with greater capacity, which has been developing along the entire front for some time now, but I don’t think it will allow the Ukrainians to return to offensive. If you look at the list, in fact, there are not only weapons but everything: both combat vehicles and light equipment for soldiers, which perhaps will be used for new recruits, and above all these two thousand short-range Stinger anti-aircraft missiles for defense of the troops on the front. Right now Ukraine has a shortage of artillery ammunition and air defense capability. Furthermore, these equipment will not all arrive together.
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General Giorgio Battisti
Can Atacms missiles change the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and how?
As for the short-range Atacms ballistic missiles, with their range of up to 300 km, they will allow critical Russian bases such as airports, command posts and ammunition depots to be hit more effectively and in depth. This will mean that the Russians will have to thin out these infrastructures more and have to move them further back within their own territory so that, if they are hit, the damage can be contained. This will lengthen movement times and the supply line and therefore a reduction in the Russians’ ability to act, but I believe only temporarily because in recent years the Russians have demonstrated that they have a great ability to react with appropriate countermeasures. We then need to understand how many will be supplied to Ukraine but they will not be numerous given that the USA would have around 4 thousand. Then it is up to the Ukrainians to not waste them on trivial objectives. I don’t think they can change the trend of the conflict, the Ukrainians have lost the moment and have gone from an offensive phase last year, which ended with few results, to suffering Russian attacks which are now widespread across the entire front.
An aid package which therefore essentially aims to prolong the conflict and not resolve it?
Ukraine now lacks anti-aircraft systems but above all trained men. A new recruitment of young people has been announced but they need to be trained and it takes months. Furthermore, there are problems managing very sophisticated vehicles such as the Abrams tanks which are heavy and difficult to move and which Ukraine is withdrawing from the front line because they are too exposed to Russian targeted fire. The massive shipment of armaments and materials serves from a moral point of view because the Ukrainians have lost morale in the face of these continuous Russian offensives, but also for internal US purposes to show that they support their allies. Then it must be remembered that part of this aid actually serves to cover the supplies of the US armed forces already delivered. Another thing to take into account is the capacity of American and European industry. Because money can also be allocated but if the industry cannot cover the orders, it will take time to deliver the material. The Russians, on the other hand, are advantaged by an industry that has essentially transformed into a war industry and operates exclusively for this military operation. The Russians fire ten thousand shots a day, three hundred thousand a month, Ukraine only a thousand a day. The possibility of reaching the same level is still very far away.
