"Russians are panicking": military expert explains Ukraine strategy for counter-offensive
Created: 06/10/2022, 14:11
By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi
Ukrainian troops appear to be using new tactics in their successful counter-offensives.
The military expert Schdanov sees parallels to the Russian civil war.
Munich/Kyiv – The Ukraine war is currently going anything but well for Russia's ruler Vladimir Putin.
His troops take one setback after another.
In early September, the Russian military was expelled from a large area around Kharkiv.
This was followed most recently by the loss of the strategically important city of Lyman in Donetsk.
Now Ukrainian troops were also able to make progress in Cherson in the south.
A new tactic is probably decisive for the Ukrainian successes.
In an interview with
Spiegel
magazine , Ukrainian military expert Oleh Zhdanov explained the new strategy of the Ukrainian military.
Russian troops would panic because of intense attacks from all sides.
Ukraine war: Ukrainian tactics modeled on Makhno?
- "small highly mobile attack groups"
When Kyiv spoke of a "Ukrainian counter-offensive" for the first time, doubts arose as to whether and how sustainable such a counter-attack would be in view of the difficult situation.
In the meantime, these doubts have gradually disappeared.
Even after more than a month, the counter-offensive continues.
Zhdanov attributed this to the Ukrainian military's "ability to learn", Western arms supplies, but also to new tactics.
She was "simply superior to that of an average Russian commander".
In his explanation of the tactics, the military expert drew a comparison to the Russian civil war.
"Ukrainian offensive actions are reminiscent of Nestor Makhno's tactics," Zhdanov said.
Makhno is the Ukrainian leader of a popular anarchist movement that fought against the Central Powers and the White Army between 1917 and 1921.
"Today, the Ukrainian troops operate in a similar way to the Makhnos a hundred years ago," Zhdanov emphasized to
Der Spiegel
.
Thus, “small, highly mobile assault groups” of the Ukrainian military would push through weak sections of Russian defenses, but would not engage directly in combat.
Instead, they would bypass the positions of Putin's troops and attack them not only from the front, but also from the side and rear.
The result, according to Zhdanov: "This creates panic among the Russian soldiers, because they don't understand where they are being attacked from, don't know whether they are already surrounded." Eventually, they would retreat or even flee.
The Ukrainian military had already used this tactic during the Kharkiv offensive.
However, the Russian army has also learned and has now strengthened its defenses.
Ukraine War: Lightly armed mobile assault forces break through Russian defenses
The Ukrainian military expert also explained the attack troops in more detail.
They would coordinate among themselves as well as with artillery units and the Luftwaffe.
"It's about mobility and speed," Schdanov emphasized explicitly.
This is precisely why the small units apparently prefer vehicles with light armor, such as Buschmaster trucks from Australia and Humvees from the USA.
Ukrainian Kozak and Varta SUVs are also in use with these troops, Zhdanov said.
Even if they are small, but at the same time mobile troops: according to Zhdanov, this is already enough to put the Russian army in a state of panic.
"Imagine it from the defenders' point of view," he told
Der Spiegel
, adding: Ukrainian troops are coming from several sides, with short but heavy shelling, but initially disappear again.
Then they come from another side and again from another.” Combined with heavy artillery, this leads to panic.
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Couldn't Ukraine have used this successful tactic much earlier in the war?
Zhdanov provided a reason why the new strategy is only now emerging: "Because in the summer we waited for our soldiers to return from courses abroad." Got warfare and replaced Soviet weapons with Western ones.
Nevertheless, Schdanov still sees a deficit in tanks: "Unfortunately, we still lack modern tanks, although we urgently need them in order to be able to attack even more effectively." Kyiv has long been demanding tanks from Germany.
"We would particularly like to have German tanks, they are the best," said the military expert.
(bb)