Ukraine is aiming to launch a 'big bang' style counter-offensive in order to break stalemated war, says military expert

• Ukraine's anticipated counter-offensive will be like a "big bang," a military expert told The Sun.
• A 'concentrated' attack is needed to disrupt the stalemated war, Ben Barry said.

A retired British military brigadier believes Ukraine's anticipated counter-offensive will involve a "big bang" attack to disrupt the stalemated war that has been ongoing for more than a year.

In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Ben Barry — a former British military leader and a senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies — told the news outlet he believes the country's military needs to make a big move to counter Russia's invasion.

"We're looking at a 'big bang' concentrated attack, rather than dribbling it away in penny packets," he said of Ukraine's planned counter-offensive.

"The longer they delay it, the more modern weapons and armor they will have in service and train people to operate it," Barry added.

The Ukrainian military will begin training with American-made military equipment in the next few weeks, Politico recently reported. The country is also training 40,000 'storm brigade' troops to prepare for the counter-offensive against Russian troops.

While it is not clear exactly when the counter-offensive operation will occur, it is considered to be a crucial move for the country.

Barry believed that a dramatic attack would be made on the frontlines, particularly in Bakhmut. Russia has been making "very slow progress at the cost of enormous casualties" in the region, he told The Sun.

The battle in Bakhmut has been marked by intense, deadly fighting on both sides of the conflict — and has been described as "the meat grinder."

The Sun also interviewed former US General Ben Hodges. The retired US Army officer, a former commander of the US Army Europe, was skeptical that a victory for Ukraine in Bakhmut was the only necessity for the country's troops.

"Ukraine could kill every Russian soldier within 200 miles of Bakhmut, and it wouldn't change the strategic situation," Hodges told The Sun. He said a push to recapture Crimea was the "decisive terrain" in the conflict.

Crimea was invaded and illegally annexed by Putin's regime in 2014.

"Ukraine knows that it will never be safe without taking back Crimea," Hodges told the news outlet.