Washington: The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine may stop for a few months. According to a report in the American newspaper ‘The New York Times’, due to the onset of winter, Russia may suspend its military operation in Ukraine for 6 months. Rain and soft soil will slow the movement of Ukrainian and Russian troops in late November. According to the report, heavy snowfall and severe cold can slow down the operational speed of the armies of both countries on the battlefield. “You’re already seeing that the bad weather in Ukraine has slowed down the fighting a bit,” US Deputy Secretary of Defense Policy Colin Kahl was quoted as saying by the NYT. Actually, it is happening because of the mud, which has made it difficult to attack a large scale.
Meanwhile, the conflict is expected to enter a new phase due to the forced halt in troop movements, the NYT report said. Russian forces will focus on attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure. Instead, the Ukrainian army is going to proceed with sabotage attacks along the lines of Russia. Seth Jones, vice president of the US Center for Strategic and International Studies, has mentioned this. Quoting a US official, the newspaper said Washington could significantly take advantage of the winter truce to increase arms supplies to Kyiv. ‘The Washington Post’, citing people familiar with the matter, wrote, ‘This news comes after reports surfaced that the Biden administration is privately encouraging Kyiv to show readiness to negotiate with Russia. ‘
Russia started its military operation in Ukraine at the end of February this year. After this mediation started. The last round of talks concluded in Istanbul on 29 March, but talks have stalled despite UN efforts. According to the NYT, the US does not want Ukraine to open talks with Russia but rather aims to ensure that Kyiv has the support of other countries. One US official told The Washington Post that Ukraine fatigue is a real thing for some of our allies. Concerns are growing in parts of Europe, Africa, and Latin America as food and fuel prices rise because of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.
Earlier in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was still ready for talks with Kyiv and asked Ukraine to stop hostilities. In return, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv is ready for talks with Moscow, but this is possible only when another president comes to power in Russia. That is, he said that Ukraine will not participate in any kind of peace agreement with Russia while Vladimir Putin is the head of state. After this, the Kremlin replied that Moscow would wait for a change in the attitude of the current President of Ukraine or his successor. Let us tell you that in the war going on for 10 months, the armies of both countries have suffered heavy loss of life and property. At the same time, several lakh people have had to be displaced from Ukraine.
