The second-in-command of Ukrainian military intelligence says Ukraine is on the losing side due to lack of heavy weapons. To keep the Russians at bay, the country depends almost entirely on weapons from Western countries. "Now everything depends on what the West gives us," says Vadym Skibitsky in an interview with
The Guardian. Ukraine is expected to submit a list of requirements to NATO next week. That will again include advanced missile systems.
Skibitsky says the Russians have dug in at the front in the south. He reckons the Russians will try again to take Odessa, Zaporizhzhya and Dnipro, once they have full control of the Donbas. "Their goal is all of Ukraine and more."
It is possible that Russia will hold back for a while to entice the West to lift sanctions, Skibitsky believes. "But then they will start all over again. Look after the last eight years." That last one is a reference to the annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in the Donbas, in 2014.