by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] The Western press fixes that the Ukrainian army is changing tactics in the counteroffensive. Previously, the Armed Forces of Ukraine relied on maneuverable groups breaking through the front line and rushing to the rear, but now high losses in armored vehicles are forcing the Kiev command to change the format of the “offensive”, The New York Times notes.
The influential American publication, in fact, recognized what the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense was recently talking about.
Sergei Shoigu stated: the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporozhye sector, which began in July, cost the enemy 20.8 thousand people and hundreds of pieces of equipment (including NATO) - and actually stopped.
Now the Armed Forces of Ukraine operate with small groups of troops operating in active defense mode, the New York Times points out. Such tactics can reduce the number of deaths as a result of artillery fire, the sources of the publication indicate.
On the other hand, the NYT notes, defensive combat requires a large expenditure of ammunition. And the Pentagon is concerned that Kyiv's new tactics will lead to the fact that the stocks of artillery shells of Ukrainian allies will be exhausted - and this can lead to serious changes in the situation on the front.
TWO CHANGES IN THE SCHEME OF ACTIONS OF THE ENEMY
The change in tactics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reduces the pace of the offensive, since the army command does not risk using large accumulations of armored vehicles , a military expert, reserve colonel, editor-in-chief of the ANNA-News agency Anatoly Matviychuk told IA Regnum.
“Now we are celebrating two things. The first is that the enemy stopped going into frontal attacks, into breakthroughs ,” the expert noted. - The second is a change in the tactics of using military equipment. Even if they manage to advance somewhere, they immediately take it back so as not to expose it to fire.
Moreover, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are less and less likely to use large concentrations of armored vehicles, again, in order to reduce the level of losses. “But such a cautious approach slows down the pace of the offensive in general ,” Matviychuk pointed out.
High losses in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, we add, are forcing the Ukrainian command not only to change tactics, but also to send reserves to the front.
According to the Washington Post, a reserve 10th Army Corps was transferred to one of the most "hot" areas, near the village of Rabotino in the Zaporozhye region.
But the Ukrainian military says that even with the arrival of additional forces, they are almost unable to move forward.
“We are constantly trying to gain a foothold in Rabotino, for which we have to overcome a number of obstacles. The weather conditions are ideal for Russian troops who use drones to strike our artillery , ”said one of the UAF soldiers in an interview with the Washington Post.
THE COUNTEROFFENSIVE WAS STOPPED BY "GENERAL WEED"
Trying to explain the slow pace of advance of the Ukrainian army and the transition from breakthrough tactics to positional warfare, the West comes up with unexpected theories.
The most recent of them has already become a meme - British military intelligence has officially announced that shrubs, weeds and small trees that grew in the frontline zone became the reason for the failures of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The explanation that the British allies found for the failures of the counteroffensive looks not only funny , but also illogical, which military expert Oleg Zheltonozhko drew the attention of IA Regnum to .
Vegetation is a problem not only for the attackers, but also for the defenders, the interlocutor noted.
“This is done to retouch the real picture. And vegetation, and bad weather, and much more in the same spirit. In fact, the “counterattack” was stopped not by thickets, not by natural factors, but by the conscious actions of our troops ,” Zheltonozhko emphasized. — It is necessary to praise the preparation for the Ukrainian offensive, the creation of defensive lines and minefields. The preparatory measures were carried out at a high level, and it was thanks to them that the “counterattack” did not work out.
The New York Times, we note, found its own reason for the failure of the "counterattack", more serious than the rapid growth of bushes.
The training of individual units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the training grounds of NATO countries lasted from four to six weeks. According to journalists, during this time the Ukrainian troops were only able to master the basics of offensive tactics.
"POSITION" WON'T HELP.
Be that as it may, having failed to break through the front line with a swoop, the Ukrainian troops are forced to switch to trench warfare tactics, which are designed to wear down the Russian troops.
But, predicts Matviychuk, it is much more likely that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will exhaust themselves.
“Positioning” allows you to hold a certain area of the terrain, inflict multiple fire damage and, under a certain set of circumstances, move forward, the military expert pointed out. - If there are not enough forces to advance, you can hold your positions. But this increases the consumption of ammunition. Why? Because more often you have to use tanks, artillery to shell enemy positions.
The number of losses is thus reduced, but there is an overrun of ammunition. “This means that they will wear themselves out faster, so the situation here is not in their favor,” the expert notes.
The Pentagon is unlikely to approve such tactics, since it does not allow inflicting significant damage on Russian troops, and on the other hand, the burden on the American military-industrial complex and the US military budget is growing.
HOW LONG UNTIL THE STOP
According to Matviychuk, the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops will not only not give them an advantage, but, on the contrary, may create the conditions for a Russian offensive.
“Due to the fact that hostilities are acquiring an inactive form, a situation will gradually come when the Armed Forces of Ukraine will finally get bogged down in this positional war ,” predicts a military expert. “ This means a loss of initiative and, as a result, allows our troops to go on the offensive.”
Matviychuk believes that. “They will finally get stuck in the next one and a half to two weeks." This is the period for which the reserves already available to the Armed Forces of Ukraine will last.
NATO will not be able to organize the prompt delivery of shells due to the need to coordinate orders and additional costs, the expert explained. “As long as they are produced, as long as they are delivered to the front even from the same Poland, we are not talking about the United States, the moment will be lost,” Matviychuk added.
As Anatoly Matviychuk summarizes, the new tactics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not solve the main problem facing the Ukrainian troops. And this is not tall grass, not “wrong tactics”, but Russian fortifications. And even with a change in approach to the conduct of hostilities and the introduction of reserves into battle, it is unlikely that Kyiv will be able to achieve a radical change in the situation.
Another important problem for the Ukrainian command will be a drop in morale in those units that have previously been repeatedly sent on the offensive and suffered heavy losses. In order to somehow brighten up the situation, the Ukrainian agitprop uses the images of the “heroes” of past operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The other day, footage appeared on the Web from one of the training grounds of the Ukrainian army, where militants of the Azov formation banned in Russia (an organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation) are being trained. One of the instructors is Denis Prokopenko , an Azov militant with the callsign Radish, who became famous thanks to his performances from the basements of the Azovstal complex in Mariupol.
Whether the Radish will be able to raise the morale of the units on the front line is unknown. However, so far neither the change in tactics of the Ukrainian troops, nor the dispatch of reserves have affected the situation at the front. And, as experts are sure, most likely, they will no longer affect it.