The US and its Western allies hesitated in their rollout of weapons and defense systems to Ukraine — and it could be one aspect hindering Kyiv’s highly-anticipated counteroffensive, analysts told Insider.
“Because we staggered the debates for all of these different systems and didn’t implement them as part of a cohesive strategy,” said George Barros, a geospatial intelligence team lead and Russia analyst with the Institute for the Study of War, “We also gave the Russians a lot of time to build up their defenses, do their own retrospective thinking, learn from mistakes and incorporate lessons learned.”
Earlier this month, Kyiv launched a counterattack against Russian forces on the front lines. And while the operation is still in its early stages — as troops achieve partial success and new positions, according to an update from The Institute for the Study of War — it’s hit a snag against Russian defenses, which run deep with artillery and landmines.