Suicide attacks in Kherson and Zaporizhia regions kill more Russian soldiers

Ukraine enters 2025 in a position of military weakness and a decline in morale after painful territorial losses this year . This is what the German newspaper WELT writes , giving a general overview of the situation in the war.
Thus, in the Donetsk region, the hottest direction of the front, Ukraine is about to lose several key cities. "The Russians have reached the culmination of their offensive," says Austrian military expert Markus Reisner.
In particular, he points out that the Russians have approached the third Ukrainian line of defense near Pokrovsk. Reisner also expects that Ukrainian troops will leave the Kurakhovo area in the coming weeks. He also sees a threat of complete capture by the Russians for the city of Chasov Yar.
Reisner considers the Ukrainian operation in the Kursk region to be a failure overall. "It would be better to deploy these Ukrainian reserves elsewhere," the analyst says.
He noted that Russia has already regained control over about half of the lost territories in this area and, according to experts, Ukraine could lose the entire territory of the Kursk region by the spring of 2025.Reisner noted that the Kremlin has not given up on its goal of also capturing the entire Kherson and Zaporizhia regions. However, Ukrainian artilleryman Roman Greshchuk, who serves near Kherson, assured WELT that the Russians will not be able to cross the river: "Even if they say that they have collected 300 boats and plan to swim across the river, we are ready, and such actions would be suicide for them. We are holding on. The morale of our guys is generally good - we know what we are fighting for."
However, among many Ukrainian soldiers there is a moral decline, which manifests itself, among other things, in numerous cases of desertion.
"Things are going badly as usual. We have no people, no weapons, no ammunition, no equipment," infantryman Alexander told WELT.
One of Ukraine's biggest problems remains an existential shortage of personnel. At times, there are up to seven Russians for every Ukrainian soldier in key areas of the front. This is partly a consequence of Ukraine's mobilization problems.
Meanwhile, Western partners show no intention of providing Ukraine with enough weapons to turn the tide of the war. And the new US president is planningto shift the main burden of supporting Ukraine to Europe, including after the war ends.
For Kyiv, the main topic of possible peace talks should be Western security guarantees that would protect against a new Russian attack. However, military assurances from individual European states will most likely not be enough to deter the Kremlin from another invasion, believes Markus Reisner.
"Which European armies should Russia fear?" the analyst asks rhetorically, adding that the main deterrent for Russia should remain the United States.