Russia Struggles with Summer Offensive Amid Foreign Aid
On July 16, 2025, Ivan Tymochko, head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Reserves Council, emphasized that Russia is acquiring weapons, missile components, firearms, and even military equipment from Iran and North Korea. He stated that Russia cannot independently conduct a summer offensive on the front lines, reports 24brussels.
Tymochko noted that North Korea is becoming a “transshipment hub” between China and Russia, as purchases are formally made for North Korea.
“With the support of allies, they have reached the level they are currently demonstrating. This is the maximum capacity of the Russian army and economy… but their strategic planning is far from being decisive at this moment,” said Tymochko. “As we see, Russia increasingly relies on foreign fighters, as conducting a general mobilization domestically is quite risky.”
Meanwhile, The Economist reports that the Russian summer offensive is the deadliest for them since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. At the current pace, it will take Russian forces nearly a century to fully occupy Ukraine. Nonetheless, dictator Vladimir Putin is said to have ambitious plans for the front in the coming years. According to Ukrainian Presidential Office data, in 2025, Russia aims to completely seize the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and create a so-called buffer zone along its northern border. In 2026, they plan to occupy all of Ukraine east of the Dnieper River and cut the country off from the Black Sea. Western media suggest that the “dirty” war is just beginning.
