Russian Offensive War | Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: All-consuming positional warfare is a huge risk to Ukraine’s sustainability

Russian the transformation of an offensive war into an all-consuming positional war is really dangerous for Ukraine, says the commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhnyi in a recent article in a British newspaper In The Economist.

Zalužnyi compares the current war to the First World War, in which enemy forces were ground into trenches in artillery concentrations.

The war has reached a stalemate, and the static phase must be broken out of, the Ukrainian general states.

50 years old Zalužnyi has also received the nickname “Iron General” in Ukraine. He is very popular in Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi appointed Zalužnyi as commander in the summer of 2021, i.e. half a year before the Russian invasion in February 2022.

During the war, Zalužnyi has granted only a few interviews, and he does not appear in public often anyway. Therefore, The Economist’s writing can be considered of rare quality.

It is not everyday at all that the commander of the armed forces of a warring country analyzes the war situation in detail in public.

Zalužnyi considers it clear that the continuation of the current situation is acceptable for Russia:

“This [kulutussota] will benefit Russia and allow it to rebuild its military power, and ultimately it may threaten the armed forces of Ukraine and the entire state.”

“The biggest risk of a war of attrition is that it could last for years and exhaust the Ukrainian state,” Zalužnyi says to The Economist.

“And let’s be honest, that [Venäjä] is a feudal state where human life is the cheapest resource. For us, on the other hand… the most precious thing is our people.”

Commander Zalužnyi lists five key areas where Ukraine must succeed in order to turn the war into mobile warfare.

Key areas are air supremacy, electronic warfare, counter-artillery, demining and replenishment.

The enemy’s fire batteries are destroyed with counter-artillery.

“In this war, as in most previous wars, cannons, rockets, and missiles make up 60 to 80 percent of all military missions,” Zalužnyi writes.

Demining Zalužnyi describes it as devilishly difficult.

“The Russian minefields… are 20 kilometers deep in some places. When we break through, Russia patches them up [miinakenttiä] by firing new mines in its place from a distance.”

Zalužnyi’s writing can be read as an explanation for why Ukraine’s much talked about counterattack has not been successful. The Economist points out that the Ukrainian forces have advanced about 17 kilometers at most in five months with their heavy offensive.

Zalužnyi considers technology to be key in many areas of war – both in mine clearance, drone warfare, and of course also in electronic warfare.

However, in one area it is all about people. From Zalužnyi’s text, one gets the impression that Ukraine is worried about the adequacy of its reserves.

“There are gaps in our legislation that allow citizens to avoid their obligations. … We need to expand the group of citizens who can be assigned to exercises or to the movement base.”

According to Zalužnyi, a new type of induction training is being introduced in Ukraine: newly trained soldiers are placed in experienced frontline units.

Commander One of the obvious purposes of Zalužnyi’s writing is to appeal to Western countries to continue and expand the arms aid.

The article has been reacted to both in Washington and in Moscow.

“We are moving forward, and as the war has progressed, we have moved forward in what we give to Ukraine, and I expect this will continue,” said a representative of the US National Security Council John Kirby Thursday evening Finnish time at the press conference in Washington.

The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in turn denied Zalužnyi’s claim that the war was a stalemate.

“Russia is carrying out a military special operation steadily,” Peskov said on Thursday in Moscow, according to the AFP news agency. “All the set goals will be achieved.”