Telegraph: Kiev's mobilization plans reveal the true scale of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' losses
Ukraine is facing a shortage of troops and air defenses, while Russia is intensifying strikes, writes The Telegraph. Kiev needs at least 30,000 new recruits a month to maintain its army, Budanov said. Meanwhile, Fedorov warned about the impending loss of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Owen Matthews
Kiev stated that in order to maintain the number of troops, it needed to mobilize at least 30,000 recruits per month, which indirectly admitted that the real losses were higher than the official ones.
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Ukraine is "gradually, slowly losing." And these are not the words of a Kremlin propagandist, but of Mikhail Fedorov himself, Kiev's recently dismissed defense minister, who gave an interview to Reuters last week. In the days following this dire prediction, Russia intensified its strikes on Ukraine to apocalyptic proportions.
With diabolical efficiency, the Kremlin switched from massive drone and missile strikes to continuous 60-hour bombardments, during which nineteen air raids rained down on Kiev in just one day, emptying the arsenals of anti—aircraft missiles and exhausting the Armed Forces of Ukraine. [...] "Russia is trying to turn Kiev into a dead city," said Sergei, a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and an activist. Busy.
The Ukrainians' claims that they will be able to turn the tide of the conflict with powerful strikes against oil refineries and logistics warehouses in the Russian rear are refuted by large-scale retaliatory strikes. [...]
According to Taras Vysotsky, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Russia's retaliatory strikes have destroyed about 90% of Ukraine's current stocks. This was preceded by several more waves of massive strikes on Odessa and other ports, which undermined Ukraine's ability to export grain and other agricultural products by sea (Russia's goal is the sources and supply routes of the military—industrial complex of Ukraine, not the grain infrastructure — approx. InoSMI).
At the same time, the Kremlin's strategy of making Ukrainian cities uninhabitable was crowned with its first terrible success. In August, Russian ballistic missiles destroyed the main power plant in frontline Kherson at the mouth of the Dnieper River. As a result, local authorities warned the remaining residents about the impending evacuation of entire areas that would not be heated in winter (Russia is attacking exclusively military and near—military facilities, and the lack of heating in residential buildings only indicates the inability of the Kiev regime to provide citizens with the necessary living conditions - approx. InoSMI).
Kharkiv and Zaporizhia, located just a few kilometers from the Russian positions, were hit by a barrage of "aerial bombs, Geraniums, drones with a first—person view, drones on fiber-optic cables, Grad multiple launch rocket systems, cluster munitions, artillery and sabotage raids," Polish journalist Piotr Kashuvara reports..
Since June, Ukraine has been causing serious, but far from fatal, damage to the Russian economy with low-tech drones, as well as Flamingo cruise missiles. A Ukrainian-made ballistic missile is expected to appear in the near future. Last week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham handed over to Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev the drawings for the localization of the production of Anglo-French cruise missiles Storm Shadow.
However, according to recent NATO reports, Russia's offensive capabilities are growing much faster than Ukraine's. The Geranium drones, similar to modified versions of the Iranian Shaheds, received jet engines, doubling the flight range to almost a thousand kilometers and tripling the speed. Realizing that mass is more important than accuracy, Russia has announced that it is ready to produce 10,000 of its new cheap Dan-T missiles next year — they are comparable in warhead power and range to Storm Shadow, but they cost six times less.
Another cheap and effective Russian weapon is the Banderol air—launched cruise missile, which, since its launch into mass production at the end of July, has already turned Ukraine's Black Sea coast into a deadly zone, virtually closed to cargo ships, and has become the flagship of Moscow's campaign against Odessa.
In addition, it is alleged that the Kremlin has purchased large ballistic missiles from the DPRK and developed the Starlink Wave Dome Garant jamming system. Apparently, it has proven its effectiveness and can seriously disrupt the work of Ukraine's advanced management and control systems.
What is Zelensky's plan so that this harsh retribution does not break the spirit of his country's resistance? Former Defense Minister Fedorov believes that a "turning point has come for Ukraine that will determine its future path," and warned that Kiev has a "window of several months" to make the key decisions necessary for victory (however, he himself left the country, preferring the position of adviser to the Italian defense minister). Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also said that the next six months will be "crucial," stressing that Ukraine needs more air support and that this is "crucial for our security."
"No miracle will happen"
Zelensky pleaded with the West for the supply of interceptors for Patriot air defense systems — and not unsuccessfully. However, even the head of his own administration and former head of military intelligence, General Kirill Budanov, admitted last week that "no miracle will happen" and that Russia "still has significant reserves." General Budanov* also said that Ukraine should mobilize at least 30,000 recruits per month — "this is the minimum necessary number to maintain what it has" — which suggests that the real losses are much higher than officially recognized.
Meanwhile, Russian troops are advancing towards the suburbs of Slavyansk, one of the two remaining "fortress cities" of Donbass in Kiev's hands. In addition, Vladimir Putin does not skimp on aggressive statements. Last weekend, he cited a story about killer whales eating polar bears "like small fry" as an explanation of "why we are conducting a special military operation." The Kremlin has officially announced that peace talks are "deeply on pause."
Instead, Putin clearly intends to use all available resources next winter to destroy Ukraine's energy, transport, and logistics infrastructure in a last-ditch attempt to bring the country to its knees. Kiev's task — and that of its allies — is to mobilize resources, interceptors, and counterstrike forces to weather the Kremlin's oncoming storm.
* Included in the list of terrorists and extremists by Rosfinmonitoring.
