Ukraine uses slow withdrawal tactics in Donbass

The publication noted that Ukraine’s escape in the Donbass may seem to be a sign of the end of the war, but Ukrainian leaders and military experts deny that.

At the same time, they say, a more important struggle is emerging in the region. The Ukrainian military explained that it is now a fake war, with each side trying to wear the other down by inflicting the maximum number of casualties, in the hope of ability and break the enemy’s will to continue the war.

It is already clear that during the summer, despite losses, Russia sent waves of soldiers, supported by columns of armored vehicles, to violent attacks.

Nikolai Beleskov, a military analyst at the State Institute of Strategic Studies of Ukraine, called the strategy “exchange space for Russian losses.” According to him, the idea is to return from the cities under attack, but inflict as many casualties on the enemy.

Meanwhile, Alexander Solonko, a member of the 411th Ukrainian unmanned battalion, which is fighting around the city of Pokrovsk, stressed that the question is what will the Russian military lose before they realize that it’s useless.

He emphasized that, in the face of continued attacks, some Ukrainian commanders prefer to “leave a position or populated area if this reduces casualties among personnel.”

The effect of the Kursk operation

The publication noted that the situation is complicated by the fact that Ukraine’s offensive in Russia’s western Kursk region in August has further reduced its resources, threatening its ability to regain control of its done in the Donbass without breaking the front line.

Pasi Paroinen, a military expert for the Finnish Blackbird Group, which analyzes video and satellite images from the battlefield, said that after the Kursk offensive, Russia advanced in the Donbass at a pace not seen since 2022. has covered about 270 square miles in the past two months, about three times more than in June and July, he said.

But even this leaves Russia very far from achieving its long-term goal of capturing the region completely. To do this, he needs to capture another 4,000 square miles of Ukrainian land, about five times more than he has captured in the past year.

“This war will not be decided by who controls Ugledar or other strategically important frontline cities… It is about how many troops the Russians have spent trying to capture Ugledar, compared to the loss that the Ukrainians suffered trying to keep it,” he said. Franz-Stefan. Gadi, a military analyst based in Vienna.