Ukrainian military expert says advance against Russian forces is too sluggish, urges decisive action
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Military expert and former commander of the Ukrainian Airborne Forces, Ivan Yakubets, criticized the pace of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ advance in an interview with Radio NV on June 16.
The current military operations conducted
by the Ukrainian Armed Forces are deemed necessary “due to the coercion by the
Russian Federation and its Armed Forces,” said Yakubets.
“Where we advance by one or one-and-a-half
kilometers, those are indeed successes. However, when we progress by 100-300
meters, it essentially amounts to a standstill.”
Yakubets said that covering a distance of
100 to 300 meters entails “crossing or overcoming half of the neutral zone,”
which, according to him, extends from 300 to 500 meters in certain directions.
“Strategically, I am deeply concerned about
this issue because if we persist in advancing at the current pace, we will
inadvertently be playing into the hands of the Russian Federation, which will
have detrimental consequences for us,” the expert said.
He pointed out that sluggish progress
results in increased casualties, and the cost of gaining every next hundred
meters or kilometer becomes steeper.
“Therefore, it is imperative for our
military and political leadership to carefully consider these issues, assess
the advantages and disadvantages, and muster the courage to take decisive
actions,” Yakubets said.
The military expert also said that the
Russians, by compelling the Ukrainians to advance slowly, have successfully “moved
forward with their plans. And now they are also advancing in certain
directions.”
“In such a tandem, it will take us decades
to liberate our territories,” he said.
A resolute deployment of units, formations,
and subdivisions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is imperative to achieve the
operational objective of “attaining a boundary depth ranging from eight to 100
kilometers behind enemy lines.”
“This
resoluteness would disrupt the enemy’s entire defense system, including their
operational-strategic defense, setting it into motion. As it starts moving, the
enemy’s resistance diminishes ,since they abandon prepared positions, fire
zones, adjust artillery placements, and alter logistical routes... It is
precisely during this moment that the progress of our troops becomes most
effective.”
He also said that advancing by 1,200 meters
signifies the capture of a strongpoint at the platoon level within the first
echelon.
“In other words, we have successfully
breached the enemy’s first echelon, specifically the company of the first
battalion. We haven’t reached the second echelon yet.”
“However, when we break through the
battalions of the second echelon within a brigade, we dismantle and annihilate
the brigade, propelling us into the operational-tactical depth. This progress
takes us not only into the operational depth, but even further into the
tactical depth.”
The Ukrainian military’s General Staff announced on June 16 that Ukrainian units have successfully conducted offensive operations in the following areas:
- Novodanilivka-Robotyne (towards Tokmak, Zaporizhzhya Oblast)
- Levadne-Staromayorske (on the border of Zaporizhzhya and Donetsk Oblasts)
- East of the settlement of Stupochky in Donetsk Oblast, displacing Russians from their occupied positions
- In the Vuhledar area, the Ukrainian Armed Forces achieved success in certain areas.
Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Malyar
stated that over the past week-and-a-half, Ukrainian forces have advanced more
than three kilometers in the eastern direction.
She also reported that during the first
week of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Ukraine’s losses were significantly
lower than those of the Russian forces.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated
that Ukraine’s ongoing successful counter-offensive on the front lines may
ultimately lead to a decisive defeat for Russia.
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