Ukraine's military chief: Significant Russian advantages in forces and resources | DW News

Ukraine's top general says his

forces

have suffered several setbacks on the battlefield and that Russian troops are advancing in the eastern Donetsk region, in social media posts Sunday, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces , Alexander CI, said that the situation on the front has worsened the enemy has concentrated its main efforts in several areas creating a

significant

advantage in

forces

and

resources

the enemy is actively attacking along the entire front line and achieving tactical advances in some areas our regular

military

analyst frank lewi just returned from

ukraine

is this a reality check and if so how bad is it?

Good night, Ben. I'm not sure if reality check is the correct term. So it's been these steady advances that have been happening for the last two months or so since the fall of a diva and even to a lesser extent during the last few months, but without a doubt the momentum of the Russians has intensified, I think over the last month , particularly west of Aiva and in the north towards Chivar, a name we are going to hear a lot more. Often, yes, it is not critical, we should not believe that this is some kind of decisive moment, it is not, but General Cki is simply accepting the way things are and that is exactly what he should do right now.

Frank, can I? Point out that the last time a commander in

chief

spoke like this and was so Frank that he was fired was the wrong message sent to the West in the past. Did donors think Ukraine was doing better than it really was? Yes, I think there is some truth in that. That and the Western officials I've spoken to have presented a picture that is frankly incredible now, whether they got it from the Ukrainians or from their own information, I don't know, but of course, as you said, the reality is starting. establishing it has been done for the last month and you mentioned the firing of General zi, who made quite similar comments to General CIS, as you pointed out a few months ago, just before he was fired in late February and early March.

It is worth saying that General Zal has essentially been fine, he has not yet taken over the appointment of him, but he was appointed. I would say perhaps into exile, so to speak, as an ambassador to the United Kingdom. I don't think he's gone yet, but I now think it's fair to say that there remains a gap within the Ukrainian

military

and indeed the nation's politics about how to address what is happening on the battlefield. Is it that what is mainly standing in the way here or a policy that is also holding back Ukraine's military successes, no, I don't know.

I don't think so, the realities on the battlefield that have unfolded again in recent months, first of all at the strategic level, the Russians learn, you know, history shows if it's a war against the fins, the Germans, um in Afghanistan, in Chia. They learn like any other military body. Poor generals have been dismissed and of course they have been tactical. They have learned battlefield tactics that have proven and continue to prove effective and that applies to Ukraine as well, so no, it's not that cracks. at the top end they are causing these problems, far from it, they are also on the battlefield, what we are also seeing is the lack of air defenses, Ukrainian supplies of missiles and air defense systems have essentially fallen off a cliff as one The former minister told me in recent months and the result has been that the Russian aviation, as they call it, has been deploying hundreds or even thousands of bombs on the Ukrainian lines, as you see, and now, in fact, now can.

In fact, there is considerable evidence that the Russians are taking advantage of the ability to control or at least maintain some element of control of Ukrainian airspace to improve their reconnaissance capabilities, so these are tactical issues. the Russians are learning, the Ukrainians are learning too of course, and the result is that the Ukrainians have to do it step by step while maintaining cohesion, withdraw and withdraw from untenable positions and now it is more about manpower or ammunition, the new mobilization efforts, for example, come uh a couple of years after this war, yes, that is absolutely central, this is a war of attrition and therefore the center of gravity, the operational level is the manpower, the Russians have that manpower, of course, they mobilized it quite early in the war, in mid-2022, and they have increased it.

They pay their soldiers extremely well, it's about four or five times the national salary, so they have no problems with recruiting. They recruit. I think it is commonly accepted between 20 and 30,000 people a month, that is not the case with the Ukrainians who wavered. several months after their mobilization, it is questionable whether they will be able to carry it out on the required scale. My opinion is that they should also start focusing instead on attacks with high-end equipment and whatever, but on equipping their soldiers on the front much better than now particularly with armored mobility and body arm and whatever but there we have it uh no this is um this is a very serious issue for the Ukrainians let's hope they start now to start mobilizing those who have They have not yet mobilized those who should do so and maybe they will use some of the funds they have to improve the offer to Ukrainian soldiers not only on the line but also to those who, of course, have left the line and been wounded. wounded, all of that helps with recruitment, it is the central gravity of this war, it is a war of attrition, the Ukrainians need to mobilize on a similar scale to that of the Russians.

Excellent to understand, as always, military analyst Frank Leage, thank you very much. To see you again thanks Ben