Czech military expert: Ukrainian forces trade small territorial gains for heavy Russian losses
This was stated in an interview with Ukrinform by Czech security analyst, publicist, and Colonel Otakar Foltyn.
Foltyn is impressed by how professionally and masterfully the Ukrainian army conducts operations. Specifically, by how the defense forces allow the Russians to advance slowly on the ground at the cost of enormous losses—each square kilometer costs them 100, 200, sometimes 400 soldiers—until the “point of attack failure.” And the moment the Russian attack’s momentum runs out, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launch a perfect counterattack and recapture the territory at a much lower cost. According to the Czech colonel, this completely demoralizes the Russians, because the Ukrainian strategy of trading tiny pieces of territory for massive losses pushes the Russian army beyond its capacity to recruit new soldiers.
The expert called the strategy of trading small swaths of territory for massive Russian losses—where the Ukrainian Armed Forces counterattack the moment the momentum of Russian attacks runs out—a textbook example of how to properly apply the art of war.
“A separate topic is the logistical miracle through which Ukraine has managed to integrate a large number of different weapon systems. Ukraine’s capacity for innovation is also absolutely incredible, as the consistently interconnected system of deploying various types of drones deep into Russian battle formations completely neutralizes Russian capabilities for tens of kilometers behind the front line. And that’s just one example. I take my hat off to them,” Foltyn stated.
He admitted that, as a soldier, he is ashamed that the armies of partner countries are not fighting side by side with the Ukrainians, but noted that there are objective reasons for this.
“As a human being, I’m ashamed of this, because we’ve spent our whole lives training to defend Europe from an aggressor, and now Ukraine is fighting for us and fighting so bravely that we’ll be going to Ukraine for the next 100 years to pay our respects.
Otakar Foltyn has visited Ukraine on numerous occasions, including to the troops on the front lines.
As reported, NATO and the European Union agree that Russia is stuck on the front lines and does not intend to announce another wave of mobilization. This was stated to journalists by the chairs of the Alliance and EU Military Committees, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone and General Sean Clancy, on the sidelines of the Kyiv Security Forum.
