The head of the operation in Georgia in 2008, General Khrulev, spoke about the actions in Ukraine
The special military operation of the Russian army in Ukraine continues, significant territories of the country have been taken under control. A number of Ukrainian cities, including Kiev, have been blocked. How effectively the operation is carried out - in an interview with "Gazeta.En" said retired Lieutenant General Anatoly Khrulev, who in 2008 commanded the 58th Army of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during a peacekeeping operation in South Ossetia, and then headed the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Abkhazia.
- Anatoly Nikolaevich, how can we assess the advance of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine?
- Let's start with the fact that we are not talking about the seizure of Ukraine. The Russian President announced a special military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine to protect the peaceful people of Donbass. And this task is now being carried out by the Russian army.
As for the promotion of Russian groups, they are very successful. It is known that the coast of the Sea of Azov, the cities of Chernihiv, Sumy, Kherson, Konotop and a number of others are completely blocked. It is important that the Chernobyl and Zaporozhye nuclear power plants were taken under control - they were not disabled, but secured from possible sabotage. Actually, this is part of the ongoing operation.
Anatoly Khrulev, 2017
Image source: Thomas Thaytsuk/RIA Novosti
- Directly at the borders of the People's Republics of Donbass, the Ukrainian army was not too successful in pushing in a number of directions. Why?
- There is also progress there, mainly by the forces of the people's militia and volunteers, who, unlike the Ukrainian military, do not fire on residential areas, which the nationalists use, hiding behind civilians. We have to squeeze out the enemy, use detours and coverage, create so-called "boilers" and then force them to lay down their weapons. It takes quite a long time.
- And how can you evaluate the actions of the Russian army, its tactics?
- It's hard to judge from the outside, not being directly on the front line, but the result is visible to the naked eye - the army is moving forward. First of all, the military infrastructure is being knocked out, air defense systems, missile and artillery positions are being hit, tanks and armored vehicles are being destroyed. Otherwise, the Russian army could face more active opposition. I am sure that Russian intelligence did a good job beforehand, providing command not only with the coordinates of the targets, but also the general condition of the Ukrainian army.
Cities are blocked, cutting off supplies of ammunition and equipment, in fact, this is a kind of blockade, when the opposing side, left without reinforcements, will be forced to throw out a white flag. The tactics of the Russian army is to cut off the APU from supplies. At the same time, corridors are being created for the civilian population to leave the combat zone.
- Is it possible to compare the operation in Ukraine with the operation in Georgia? Then we managed to reach the outskirts of Tbilisi...
- It is impossible to compare the scale of these two operations, after all, the area of advance from South Ossetia was incomparably smaller, and the territory itself is not as densely populated as in Ukraine. Again, the factor of complete demoralization of the Georgian army, which turned out to be unprepared for Russia's rapid offensive, played a role, and our army could have gone further than to Tbilisi without encountering much resistance, but the command came to stop and return. At the same time, the Georgian army was well armed, including at the expense of American supplies.
I would also like to note that the experience of the operation in South Ossetia, as well as the Syrian company, has been taken into account and studied in the Russian army. Now it is also used during a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine. And one of the results of 2008 was the fact that the process of Georgia's admission to NATO was stopped. It is likely that Russia's current goals include similar measures in relation to the alliance's strategy in Ukraine.
- Why did the operation start now?
- This is a preventive measure. For the United States, the main goal in Ukraine is to ignite a new conflict, create a hotbed of tension in Eastern Europe. Russia resisted this and took measures to stop the creation of a militarized zone at its side. In fact, this is not a confrontation with Ukraine, but a response to threats from the United States and NATO. And it works - the United States no longer wants to send its troops into this country.
Victor Sokirko