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Christian Freuding, who heads the planning staff at the Defense Ministry, accompanied Inspector General Carsten Breuer to Ukraine two weeks ago.
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa
Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine lasted two years.
The country was determined to defend itself, but was under military pressure, notes German Major General Freuding.
Berlin - The chief military coordinator of Ukraine aid, Major General Christian Freuding, sees the country's determination to defend itself against the Russian war of aggression that began two years ago as unbroken.
However, the military situation in Ukraine is tense, Freuding told the dpa in Berlin.
Ukraine recently complained about a lack of artillery ammunition, anti-aircraft defenses and long-range weapons.
At the weekend, Ukrainian forces had to give up the contested Avdiivka.
At the tactical level, with the exception of the Avdiivka area, the 1,000-kilometer front line remains relatively unchanged, said Freuding.
The most intense battles would be fought in spatially limited areas.
“Russia is overwhelmingly in the initiative along this front line,” he noted.
Freuding also said: “We are convinced that Ukraine can win.
All our strength, our efforts and those of our partners are dedicated to this.”
The officer who heads the planning staff at the Defense Ministry accompanied Inspector General Carsten Breuer to Ukraine two weeks ago.
They met the new commander-in-chief Olexander Syrskyj in Kiev to discuss further weapons aid.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umjerov said Syrskyj had informed people about the situation at the front and thanked them for help.
Freuding: Ukraine has invested intensively in building positions
The Ukrainian soldiers withdrew from Avdiivka to prepared positions five to ten kilometers to the west in an orderly and tactically clever manner, said Freuding.
And: “We generally see that Ukraine has invested very intensively in position construction in the last few weeks and months in order to expand defensive positions in favorable areas of the terrain.
Both sides aimed attacks deep into the opponent's area.
Russia is firing on energy and defense infrastructure, but is also taking targeted action against population centers.
“The Ukrainian attacks in depth are aimed primarily at command and control facilities, logistical facilities and airfields and special individual targets such as the Black Sea Fleet,” he said.
His tactical assessment of the situation from north to south: Slight progress in favor of the Russian forces in the Donetsk area.
In the Zaporizhzhia area it is essentially balanced.
And the Ukrainian armed forces manage to continue to establish themselves on the left bank of the Dnipro in Kherson Oblast, but without being able to form or expand a militarily relevant bridgehead.
Necessary superiority not achieved
The expectation or hope that Ukraine could break through the Russian positions with the help of Western arms support last year has not been fulfilled.
Several reasons for this can be clearly analyzed, said Freuding.
The Ukrainians were not able to achieve the necessary superiority of 3:1 to 5:1, at least in a limited area, and then prevail.
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In addition, as an attacking force, they lack anti-aircraft capabilities.
“The Ukrainian armed forces were virtually defenseless against threats from the air.
Why?
Because anti-aircraft and massed air defense capabilities are concentrated in population centers and critical infrastructure,” he said.
In addition, there is the expansion of the Russian lines with mining that is beyond imagination.
According to this information, the Ukrainians are talking about around 20 million mines, planted at a depth of several kilometers, which would have to be cleared by hand in the absence of air defense and air defense by Ukraine.
German weapons are crucial in the defensive battle
According to Freuding, the weapons supplied from Germany make a decisive contribution to ensuring that the Ukrainian armed forces can survive in defensive battles.
The self-propelled howitzer 2000 is described as the most precise artillery piece.
Crews could get out of the Leopard 2 main battle tank unharmed even after heavy hits with large-caliber ammunition or drones.
Freuding continued: “It is clear that the Ukrainians need stronger support because the consumption of ammunition and weapon systems is very high.” Efforts are underway to increase support.
The officer said: “For those who defend themselves, who are in an existential struggle for survival against a seemingly overwhelming opponent with a functioning arms industry behind them, with seemingly endless reserves of personnel, for them it is of course never enough.”
Furthermore, Germany itself is constantly faced with balancing decisions: “To what extent are we interfering in our own defense capability with support services?” dpa