Both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war are preparing for new offensive and defensive plans in 2023. For that, they need new weapons.
The war in Ukraine might have reached a grinding halt on the ground, but behind the scenes both sides are gearing up for the future. A deadly boxing match, where both sides are discussing with their “coaches” before starting to deal blows as soon as the bell rings.
After Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s successful visit to Washington, the United States pledged to send Patriot anti-air missiles to Kyiv. The decision came after the many Russian bombing campaigns that disrupted civilian infrastructures and led some Ukrainian anti-air missiles to fall on neutral territories.
In particular, the death of two Polish citizens inside Polish territory, struck by an off-course S-300, increased Western awareness that Ukraine needs better defense systems.
Luckily for Ukraine, the United States already started preparing the shipment of Patriot systems. “We ended last year with a revolutionary decision on the supply of American Patriot systems to Ukraine,” said Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, “which was agreed upon by the leaders of Ukraine and the United States, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joe Biden. We expect the Patriot to be deployed as soon as possible.”
Other American generals also suggested the shipment to Ukraine of long-range missiles, in preparation for the liberation of Crimea. Right now, however, Ukraine is not in the likely position to conduct a new counter-offensive. For now, their forces are mostly concentrated in defending Bakhmut and preparing for a possible Russian attack.
Russian weapon suppliers
On the other side of the fence, Russia too is gearing up militarily. After last week’s announcement that a new mobilization of troops might be coming, new developments on Russian military capabilities have come out.
First, Russia is to continue drone shipments from Iran, the Kremlin’s main weapons supplier for the moment. Iranian drones have been mainly used for the aforementioned bombings of civilian infrastructures, a war crime.
Nevertheless, it seems it might just have been the beginning. According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russia used 660 drones out of the 1750 provided. “According to our data, now they will have another delivery batch,” stated a representative of the Ukrainian agency. “How much it will be, we will clarify. As a rule, before that they imported in batches of 250-300 pieces. Let’s see how it will be this time.”
Second, according to the Rostec press service, Russia could start mass production of a new generation of electronic warfare. These new ground and aviation systems will be used to counter drones.
Finally, according to Russian officials, their production of weapons and special equipment is steadily increasing.
Were all of this to be true, it would seem unlikely that the war will end in 2023. Unless, of course, a major breakthrough like that of Kherson happens again.
