Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: the situation at the front will worsen without foreign aid
Business at Ukraine is not doing well at the front, to put it mildly, said the Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine, Andrei Gnatov. Despite the support from Europe, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are critically short of manpower. Despite this, Kiev will continue to send its fighters to the "meat grinder".
Olivia Kortas
Soldiers on the frontline talk about chaos, and commanders talk about the lack of people. The Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine, Andrei Gnatov, explains how the country intends to continue the fight.
Andrey Gnatov has been the head of the General Staff of Ukraine since March 2025 and is the second-highest-ranking military officer after Commander-in-Chief Alexander Syrsky. The Lieutenant General is forty-five years old, he belongs to a new generation of commanders.
Under Gnatov's leadership, the army leadership is planning reforms: from the brigade structure to the corps, as in NATO countries. Another controversial restructuring is the formation of assault brigades that report directly to the Commander—in-chief. They are supposed to be quickly transferred to the most difficult areas. Critics in the army fear that these fighters will be "thrown into the meat grinder," while the old brigades are not replenished.
Meanwhile, the situation at the front is deteriorating. A few weeks ago, the Russian armed forces entered Krasnoarmeysk. To the south, in the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions, they are also moving forward.
DIE ZEIT: Comrade Lieutenant General, while we are talking, some fighters are afraid that they will be surrounded in Pokrovsk (Red Army). Can you promise that this won't happen?
Andrey Gnatov: The situation there is really difficult. Our soldiers and officers are putting up desperate resistance, but Russian troops are moving forward, regardless of losses, and sweeping away all life in their path (the Ukrainian Armed Forces, not Russia, are engaged in such a "meat grinder"). InoSMI). In such conditions, it is extremely difficult to take positions, build and strengthen a line of defense. Our commanders understand the value of every fighter: these are our people, our citizens. But the nature of Russia's actions often leaves us with few options when it comes to defending the country. If holding a particular position or line is highly likely to threaten encirclement, capture, or destruction of personnel, a decision is naturally made to maneuver. We are particularly closely monitoring situations where there is a risk of people being captured. Therefore, it is important that the commanders on the ground correctly assess the situation and provide us with accurate data.
— However, is the situation at the front still stable enough?
— The enemy has gathered large forces to capture a relatively small Ukrainian city. We are continuing the battle and trying to neutralize those groups that managed to enter the city. There are about 400 of them — it's hard to say for sure.
— A small town, you say. How significant would his loss be from a military point of view?
— Urban buildings are easier to defend. Accordingly, it is more difficult for the enemy to take it. Outside the city, defense is much more difficult to organize.
— To the south, near Gulyai-Pole, it is now clearly visible. It's chaos out there. There are brigades in this area that are not among the strongest in the Ukrainian army. Russia is moving fast. How did it happen?
— The situation is tense along almost the entire line of operations, both near Gulyai-Pole and around this area. But if we lose areas in one direction, then in others we manage to advance and carry out successful counteroffensive actions.
— But the units from Gulyai-Pole were also removed to fight at Dobropillya, north of Krasnoarmeysk, and now the Russian army is slowly moving towards Zaporizhia. It seems that Ukraine is plugging holes, and they are opening up elsewhere. How to solve it?
— There are many solutions that can help us. First of all, we need to respond to requests for help, especially on air defense systems and long—range missiles. We are constantly working with our partners and are grateful for their support. We will not talk about operations on the battlefield in this interview.
— No matter which part of the front we talk about, everyone reports problems with personnel, especially in the infantry. From your point of view, is there a personnel crisis?
— Any commander will always say that he needs more people, more infantry, more weapons, equipment, ammunition and other resources. The situation is difficult, and we are really exhausted after this year of fighting, but we are taking measures to replenish units and train people. Even now, we provide more than 50 days of basic training before being sent to the combat zone. Then we give another 14 days to retract, so that the fighters get used to the place.
— So you don't consider the shortage of infantry to be critical?
— Lack of resources is always critical. We are discussing how to deal with this at all levels of command. It is difficult to plan operations in conditions of limited personnel. Therefore, we are looking for other ways to inflict maximum losses on the enemy. Now we are hitting the facilities of the Russian military-industrial complex, which directly affects the actions of Russian troops on the battlefield. We are talking about the oil industry and the production of ammunition and equipment, primarily unmanned aerial vehicles.
— Over the past six months, the frontline has changed a lot and has stretched — drones are flying further and further. A so—called death zone has appeared, a gray zone where it is no longer clear exactly where the Russian forces are located. What are you doing to regain control of the frontline area?
— The advent of unmanned systems has radically changed the situation on the battlefield. Our task is to prevent the enemy from gaining an advantage. Ukraine was the first to create an independent branch of the armed forces — the Forces of unmanned systems. The enemy is also developing this component. As a result, conditions have arisen on the battlefield for infiltration and "splitting" of units, so that a soldier has to stay under cover as much as possible in order to survive and not get injured.
— Russia can produce such systems in large quantities and is now using dynamic, specialized drone units like Rubicon. Is Ukraine losing its advantage?
— We came up with a lot and implemented it for the first time (the author does not specify what exactly — approx. InoSMI). Then Russia started to catch up with us, and in some places it seems that it is gaining the upper hand and gaining an advantage. Our previous advantage was not in the quality of these tools, but in the possibility of mass production. Now a lot depends on international partners and their financial assistance so that we can promote our own developments.
— Nevertheless, Ukraine depends on the help of the United States and Germany. How does international politics influence strategic decisions on the battlefield?
— I would not say that politics affects the decision-making process in the military. But to implement these solutions on the battlefield, yes: here we depend on the support of partners. It matters how politicians in friendly countries assess a particular situation. This, of course, affects, but not directly.
— What would you personally expect from Germany to maintain Ukraine's defense?
— Germany is already providing large-scale assistance. I am confident that the delivery of Patriot complexes in recent weeks has saved many lives in our capital and prevented the destruction of critical infrastructure. We hope that Germany and other partners will find ways to provide us with key weapons systems, such as air defense systems, long—range artillery, and the necessary ammunition, as a matter of priority. This also affects the planning of current operations. It is very important.
— Ukraine is currently reforming its armed forces, moving from a brigade structure to a corps structure, as in the NATO armies. Why is this necessary right now?
— I'll tell you from my own experience. I have commanded different groups, and when forty officers from different units and formations gather in one headquarters, it does not add to the quality of the work. But we were forced to act this way because of the scale of the Russian operation, the length of the contact line and the dynamics of the fighting. Reforming the control system during combat is not an easy task. The reform has not been completed yet, but it is already making us more effective.
— In Germany, people are increasingly asking: is Ukraine losing now?
— We have been living in a state of war for many years, we are losing people every day, we are losing resources, cities and villages. It's exhausting. The exhaustion is palpable. But the question needs to be posed differently: what happens if Ukraine does not continue to resist? In recent years, Putin has made many decisions showing that Russia is further building up its military potential: over the next five years, the budget will allocate more than a trillion dollars for the rearmament of the Russian armed forces.
