– The military technology means that the war is deadlocked. This could lead to a protracted job war. Such a war could wear down the Ukrainian state, says Valery Zaluzhny to the publication The Economist.
Zaluzhny also has wrote an article in the publication. There he discusses what is needed for Ukraine to win.
This summer, the Ukrainians launched a major offensive. After five months, they have reached ten kilometers at their deepest point. The Russians took ten months to take Bakhmut.
Now in recent weeks, the Russians have started a new offensive. It is aimed at the town of Avdijivka. The Russians have suffered enormous losses, but have not managed to make a dent in the Ukrainian front.
– There will most likely not be a deep and beautiful breakthrough, says Zaluzhny.
DID NOT GET THROUGH: A photo from the start of the Ukrainian offensive. Russian mines and anti-tank weapons have destroyed a number of armored personnel carriers and tanks that Ukraine had received in the previous months.
Photo: RUMOD
Should have been in the Crimea
Zaluzhny says that the original plan for the offensive was for them to advance 30 kilometers a day. That they would quickly reach the Crimea. It didn’t work out that way.
Wide minefields and Russian artillery stopped the Ukrainian troops. In addition, the Russian drones contributed to making progress difficult.
– We see everything the enemy does. The enemy sees everything we do, says Zaluzhny.
NOTHING WRONG WITH THE SOLDIERS: The Ukrainian soldiers fought as hard as they could, but the technology they use and the methods they use are outdated, believes the defense chief.
Photo: ANATOLII STEPANOV / AFP
Tried everything
When the offensive stopped, the defense chief initially thought it was due to poor leadership. He replaced military leaders. To no avail.
– Then I thought it had to do with the soldiers. I moved around departments, but that didn’t help either, says Zaluzhny.
He also believed that the Russians were going to surrender because of the huge losses. They haven’t done that.
– I thought wrong. At least 150,000 Russian soldiers have been killed. In any other country, such losses would have stopped the war, says Zaluzhny.
DID NOT SURRENDER: The Ukrainian defense chief believed that the war could be won by killing so many Russian soldiers that Russia surrendered. He admits that he thought wrong.
Photo: SPUTNIK / Reuters
Need something new
He believes that Ukraine must gain air supremacy in order to win on the ground. In order to achieve that, the air force must be modernised. In addition, there must be a lot more.
– To get movement on the ground, we have to have something new. Just like gunpowder was new, says Zaluzhny.
The Chief of Defense believes that there must be new technology. He mentions drones, electronic warfare, mine clearance and robots.
NEW TECHNOLOGY: Drones play a key role in the war. The Ukrainian defense chief is calling for new technology that can be used to combat enemy drones.
Photo: ALINA SMUTKO / Reuters
– It is important to understand that this war cannot be won with the weapons of previous generations and with outdated methods. They will inevitably lead to delays, and with that defeat, says Zaluzhny.
He adds that it does not appear that the necessary innovations are close on the horizon.
NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE: Ukraine has suffered heavy military losses so far in the war. The Ukrainian defense chief believes there is a danger that they will end up in a situation where they do not have enough people to continue the fight.
Photo: GENYA SAVILOV / AFP
Fare for Ukraina
– We have to find this new “gunpowder”. We have to master it quickly, and use it to achieve a quick victory, says Zaluzhny.
He believes a war of positions could last for many years and it would wear down the Ukrainian state.
– We must win quickly. Because sooner or later we will not have enough people to continue the war, says the defense chief.
Thinks the offensive is a disaster
Zaluzhny’s post has received a lot of space in the Ukrainian media.
The general is not just anyone. He enjoys great respect from Ukrainians and military analysts. The fact that the Russian forces had to give up taking the capital Kyiv in February 2022, many believe, can be thanked precisely for Zaluzhny.
But there are also other voices in Ukraine who question the offensive.
The critics
One of those who has come up with strong criticism is Alekseij Arestovich. He was previously an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He resigned after he blamed the Ukrainian Air Force for part of the blame for the damage to an apartment block in the city of Dnipro during a Russian attack in January this year.
CRITIC: Arestovich from when he was an adviser to the Ukrainian president.
Foto: UKR presidental office
Arestovich is a well-known but controversial figure in Ukraine. He has a large following. There are many Ukrainians who listen to what he says. Over 1.7 million followers youtube channel his where he comments daily on the progress of the war.
Disaster
In October, Arestovich said that the Ukrainian offensive is a disaster.
He believes, among other things, that Zelenskij and the military leaders have failed in their strategy when they have not been able to break through the Russian defense lines.
Arestovich says that Ukrainian forces should have concentrated on the southern part of the front, but that instead they have been sucked into the battle for the city of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine.
He believes that Ukraine is now at a dead end. The Russians can’t beat us, we can’t beat them, says Arestovich.
Must give reason
He also believes that it is not possible to imagine that Ukraine will be able to take back its borders from 1991.
He believes that one of the options the Ukrainians must look at is the possibility of ceding occupied areas to Russia, in exchange for Ukraine gaining membership in NATO.
This week he went out and said that he wants to run presidential candidate at the next election.
The strong criticism from Arestovich is not common in Ukrainian parlance.
President Zelenskyy is adamant that Ukraine will win the war on the battlefield and that it is out of the question to negotiate with Russia.
The vast majority of Ukrainians agree with that. Around 80 percent believe that it is out of the question to give up areas in order to get peace, writes Kyiv Post.
2023-11-03 12:09:20
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