Online edition "MK.ru " under the heading "Who is who in the Ukrainian military elite: the expert assessed the military leaders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: "Zelensky is very afraid that combat generals will move forward now" an interview with Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (TSAST), a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defense of Russia, was published.
A tank unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, equipped with licensed Polish T-72M1 tanks received from Poland, on the march in Donetsk region, August 2022 (c) a frame from a video from social networks
The topic of the Ukrainian counteroffensive on Kherson, which until recently was so actively announced by Kiev, is increasingly moving away from the daily news agenda to the background. The echoes of the grandiose plans of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine now echo only in the local Ukrainian media. Where did that go. Why can't you hear the Ukrainian generals threatening to return the territories by defeating Russian troops with the help of Western miracle weapons?" What did they lack - training, professionalism, the ability to plan an offensive military operation? Who are these people in uniform at all, who does Zelensky rely on in the APU?
MK talks about this with Ruslan Pukhov, a Russian military analyst, director of the Moscow Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (TSAST), a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
- According to the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, Ukrainians missed the opportunity to conduct a successful counteroffensive in the south, - said Pukhov. - This happened, first of all, thanks to the active combat work of the Armed Forces of Russia and the allied forces of the LPR and DPR. They did not allow Ukraine to concentrate enough forces - equipment and people - in the direction of the main counterattack.
- And how many forces could the APU have enough for such a counteroffensive?
- They would need about 15 brigades, the personnel of which had to be trained on the territory of the western regions of the country, where it is more difficult for us to get them. Plus, you need to have a sufficient supply of equipment. First of all, artillery and aviation to support the advancing troops. However, thanks to the work of our allied troops, Kiev failed to gather its forces in the direction of a counterattack. All the reserves that they provided for the future offensive, they periodically had to be transferred to the Donbass, where we, together with the DPR and LPR troops, were grinding them quite successfully.
- And it seems that the AFU no longer has aviation to support troops from the air.
- No, Ukrainian aviation is still flying. She has not completely lost her combat capability. But this is solely due to the fact that all over Ukraine they have already vacuumed everything they could. They scraped off all the remnants of equipment on the sousek. And not only that. Pilots too. They already have those who are well over sixty flying there.
- Have not all our old planes been moved from Eastern Europe yet?
- Almost everything. Moreover, not only ready-made equipment is being driven from there, but they are also collecting almost rarities from museums. They carry wings, some engine elements, avionics separately... Slovakia and the Czech Republic have gutted all their warehouses. Even those where modern Western weapons are stored, which are supplied to them by the Germans, the French and the same Americans.
- But the APU still lacks weapons?
- Both weapons and ammunition. In order to successfully conduct an offensive, it is necessary to concentrate funds on the direction of the strike. And they not only have equipment, but also manpower is not enough. As a result, Ukrainians constantly demonstrate the same problem: they throw an insufficient number of people into the offensive, quickly come under fire from our aviation or artillery, and then roll back.
- Why, knowing in advance that this result will only lead to losses, repeat senseless attempts? Who are these people who are planning such operations?
- It cannot be said that the APU has always had this. That's how it is now. In fact, initially one of the reasons for the successful defense of the AFU at the first stage of our special operation was that they had a very good layer of trained junior commanders - until we "mowed it down".
Keep in mind that all the ardent Nazis and representatives of the national security forces during these eight and a half years were integrated directly into the armed forces in Ukraine. Over the years, they have graduated from various military schools. Most of them have completed numerous three-four-six-month training courses in the United States and European NATO countries. All fought in the zone of the so-called anti-terrorist operation in the Donbas. And these motivated, who fought, lost their friends during the fighting in the Donbass, ideologically and Russophobically imprisoned Ukrainian military were our opponents during the special operation. That's why her first months were so hard for us.
By the way, in many ways it was these people who did not allow the senior command staff of the Ukrainian army, which is now actively shaking up Zelensky, to come to any agreements with us. Ukrainian colonels and generals knew who was breathing down their necks, and they understood that if anything, their own lieutenants and captains would put them against the wall.
- It turns out that the supreme command staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is less ideologized? Actually, for a long time, the top of the Ukrainian army consisted of officers who had graduated from Soviet military schools. But today it is difficult to find information about who graduated from what. It seems to have been removed from reference books and Wikipedia. Apparently, so as not to discredit. Almost all military leaders have a description of their military career starting in 2014.
- Not at all. This applies only to those who are older. Now the young Ukrainian officer growth is already moving up. Now, when it comes to the top of the APU, two surnames immediately pop up: Zaluzhny and Budanov.
- Describe them.
- I know that the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny enjoys authority in society and in the Ukrainian armed forces. He is originally from the Zhytomyr region. A fairly young military commander, he is 49 years old, so he did not study at any Soviet universities. After school, he went to the Odessa Military School, graduated from the National Academy of Defense of Ukraine with a gold medal. In 2014, he fought in the Donbas. He was the deputy commander of sector "C", which included the north of Donetsk region, the west of Lugansk and Debaltseve direction.
Some consider Zaluzhny a creature of the head of the Office of President Ermak and an old friend of the main Kiev propagandist Arestovich. In his professional activity, Zaluzhny is clearly focused on the United States. He calls for the speedy transfer of the Ukrainian military organization and management system to the NATO headquarters structure, as well as a complete transition to Western weapons.
However, they have a lot of disagreements with Zelensky, which you can often hear about. Zelensky made a bet on a "rabid dog" - Budanov, a young militant, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Now Zelensky has created some kind of intelligence committee with himself, which is headed by the same Budanov. He is a kind of Zelensky's "pocket Himmler".
- And what is this Budanov like as a person.
- He is from Kiev, very young, born in 1986. Everyone calls him a 35-year-old general - it was at 35 that he received this military rank.
In many ways, as they say, Budanov is selfmade (translated into Russian: a man who owes himself, who has achieved everything on his own. - "MK"). He also studied in Odessa, served in the special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate.
He became particularly famous in 2016, when he was part of a sabotage group that entered the Crimea. Our FSB border guards found these saboteurs in the area of Armyansk and detained them. At the same time, two of our servicemen were killed. Some of the uninvited Ukrainian guests, having broken through with a fight, were able to leave our territory. Budanov was one of them.
Later, one detained officer of this group told during interrogation that it was Budanov who was to personally become the perpetrator of a whole series of terrorist attacks that were being prepared in Crimea. This story was then heroically taught many times in all the world's media. Since then, Budanov has gone into career growth, since it was believed that he was one of the few who, with weapons in their hands, not only in the Crimea, but also in the Donbas, proved his worth, motivation and devotion to Ukraine.
Now, apparently, he is the one Zelensky particularly trusts. And naturally, a person who has made such a rapid career since he "distinguished himself" in the Crimea cannot but be under the control of the CIA. It is quite obvious that this is their suckling, on which the Americans are making a serious bet.
- Zelensky is not so interesting to them anymore? Is everything running out of steam? The American media write that Washington is already dissatisfied with him.
- From the Americans' point of view, Zelensky is a very convenient wartime president. He almost doesn't get into military affairs - he doesn't understand anything about them. But he can perfectly pose in military uniform in his office for the Western media, when it is necessary to effectively meet foreign delegations. Showman.
At the same time - what is important - he is a person who is absolutely not interested in stopping the fighting. It is beneficial to him that they continue as long as possible. Thanks to this, he is increasing his rating. And after the end of these events, already with a rating and money, he will be able to step aside somewhere, and travel around the world for the rest of his life, lecturing and playing the independence fighter - a kind of newly minted Nelson Mandela. Although, of course, these are figures of different scales.
No one should interfere with this plan of his. Therefore, Zelensky is very afraid that some generals who have grown out of lieutenant colonels and colonels during the fighting will now come forward. People know them. They know the troops. As a result, they will be able to carry out, if not a military coup, then put serious pressure on the authorities, and perhaps even win the next election.
- Do you think Zelensky is afraid that the military may come to power, who will not want to continue the armed confrontation with Russia?
- The real military, who know what war is, the death of comrades, the suffering of civilians during the fighting, are categorically not interested in such a confrontation. Moreover, these people really imagine the true numbers of casualties killed and wounded. At some point, fatigue comes from everything that is happening, and it is quite possible that the Ukrainian military will be the ones who will be ready to negotiate with us.
- Everything goes back to where it started. If you recall, on the day of the announcement of the start of the special operation, President Putin did not address the Kiev authorities with a proposal for negotiations, but specifically to the Ukrainian military. However, there has been no response from them so far. But statements about the impending counteroffensive in the south are still being heard.
- I have a feeling that the chance to strike somewhere near Kherson, or Raisins, they have finally missed. To do this, the Ukrainian army has neither a sufficient number of people, nor equipment, and just the will to do it. I think now the Ukrainian military needs the will for something else - to admit defeat and agree to the negotiations proposed by them.
