Ukraine Talk at Maischberger
“It’s worth continuing to support us”
By Marko Schlichting
09/14/2022, 02:58 am
The start of the Ukrainian army’s offensive in the east of the country is promising. It is made possible by weapons from the West. “The outgoing Ambassador Melnyk expects that Germany will give up its reluctance to deliver heavy equipment. In a few weeks it could be that time, he says on “Maischberger”.
The war in Ukraine has entered a new phase. A major offensive by the Ukrainian army has been underway since Friday, which, according to the latest information from the Ukrainian leadership, has liberated an area of almost 4,000 square kilometers in the east of the country. That is almost five times as much as the city of Hamburg, including the commuter belt.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone on Tuesday for the first time since the end of May. A government spokesman said that Scholz called for quick peace negotiations. But it doesn’t seem to be that far at the moment. Experts are therefore assuming that the West may soon be supplying new weapons to Ukraine. One of them is the military expert Carlo Masala, who was a guest on the ARD talk show “Maischberger” on Tuesday evening together with the Ukrainian ambassador Andriy Melnyk.
“Magnificent military success”
Masala called the Ukrainian army’s offensive a “terrific military success”. However, he does not want to talk about a turning point in the war, it is still too early for that. The decisive factor now is whether the Russian army can succeed in setting up a new line of defense. “Then it wouldn’t be anyone,” says Masala. It is important that the Ukrainians keep the Russian army moving in the combat zone in eastern Ukraine. The behavior of the Russian army in southern Ukraine is also unclear. “There is a possibility that they will surrender.”
The Ukrainian army had been preparing the offensive for a long time, Masala explains. It managed to cut off Russian forces from logistics “by destroying bridges and blowing up ammunition depots.” The Ukrainian army managed to move the Russian troops mainly to the south of the country because they expected the main point of attack to be in Cherson. The attack had now taken place near Kharkiv. The two cities are a good 560 kilometers apart.
The Russians were unable to make an orderly retreat as a result of the attack, and the soldiers fled, says Masala. They were exhausted and had too little ammunition. “Now they’re realizing it’s not worth fighting. That’s why they’re fleeing. They dropped everything because you can’t destroy material in such a short time.”
“We have a good chance”
The Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk is proud. “We want to liberate as many areas as possible before winter,” he says on “Maischberger”. “I hope that the Ukrainian army will be able to outwit the Russians in the future as well as in the last few days.” The army was only able to do this with weapons from the west, emphasizes Melnyk. “You have also contributed a lot. It is worth continuing to support us.” According to Melnyk, cooperation between the allies and Ukraine is now working. “People trust us a lot more,” he says.
Masala explains that Russia’s options are now limited. Putin can call for a general mobilization, but then new soldiers first have to be trained. They might shoot, but not fight. In the end, they are more or less “cannon fodder,” according to the expert.
Further support with weapons is now important for his country, says Melnyk. Federal Defense Minister Lambrecht claims that Germany should assume a leading role in Europe. “Leadership means supporting Ukraine with everything you can,” he says.
“The traffic light’s refusal to deliver weapons will fall,” Melnyk is certain. “It’s only a matter of time. And we’re talking about weeks.”