Military expert Knutov explained the large losses of the Armed Forces with the wrong tactics
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), as part of the counteroffensive, chose the tactics of an assault exclusively by personnel, without the support of aircraft and tanks, which for the most part caused record losses. This was stated by military expert, director of the Museum of Air Defense Forces, retired Colonel Yuri Knutov on Monday, October 16.
He noted that the one who attacks always loses more and there is an established approach that speaks of the need for an advantage in personnel from three to five times for the attacking side.
"In addition, Ukraine used the tactics of "meat assaults" when personnel were thrown into the attack without the support of aviation, heavy artillery and tanks," the expert said in a conversation with Lenta.Ru .
According to the colonel, small tactical groups of up to 10 people tried to break through the defense, getting into minefields, under artillery fire, mortar fire and only then penetrating into the trenches. It was such assaults that were used on the three main sectors of the front.
"Ukraine also tried not to leave Artemovsk (Ukrainian name Bakhmut). To do this, she carried out constant counterattacks on the positions of our troops, which also led to losses. In principle, Ukraine's tactics are quite strange and involve losses, but they do not pay attention to this, because it is more important to report that at least some counteroffensive tasks have been solved," the expert said.
Knutov noted that the AFU managed to achieve little in the framework of the counteroffensive. They were able to cut off the ledge in the South Donets direction, to wedge in the direction of Orekhov – Tokmak, but these successes are purely tactical in nature.
"They did not even lead to a breakthrough of the main line of defense. The enemy captured some advanced strong points and everything stopped there. The main lines of defense were not broken through to the first line. The tasks that the Ukrainian army faced have not been solved," the military concluded.
Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine's losses during the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian army were estimated as eight to one, the NSN reports.
In addition, he noted that the Armed Forces of Russia are improving their position almost on the entire line of contact in the special operation zone. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing new offensive operations in certain areas of combat operations and the Russian army is aware of this and reacts accordingly, the head of state added.
At the same time, the President of the Russian Federation said that Moscow has never objected to ending the conflict by peaceful methods, but Kiev's position prevents this, the Zvezda TV channel reports.
Earlier, on October 14, former intelligence officer of the US Armed Forces Scott Ritter, in an interview with the Danny Haiphong YouTube channel, noted that the AFU suffered enormous losses and were on the verge of complete destruction. The Ukrainian side has "some reserves that it will throw into battle." However, in fact, the Ukrainian army has been destroyed, he is sure.
On the same day, Leonid Kuchma's former adviser Oleg Soskin stressed that the ineffectual counteroffensive of the Ukrainian army had led to the demoralization of Ukrainian soldiers. The APU failed to achieve any significant achievements at the front during the four months of the offensive. However, under the command of the Kiev regime, the Ukrainian army lost many militants and lost a large number of weapons and military equipment, the former adviser to Kuchma stressed.
On the eve of the newspaper Al Khaleej wrote that the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and his Western allies are concerned about the active preparation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for the continuation of a special military operation (SVO) in the coming winter. According to the publication, Moscow is developing tactics of warfare in the winter months. Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have already received more modern weapons and strengthened the defense lines in the SVO zone.
Western countries have increased military and financial support for Kiev against the background of the Russian Federation's special operation to protect Donbass, which has been held since February 24, 2022. The corresponding decision was made in connection with the aggravation of the situation in the region.
Watch more relevant videos and details about the situation in Donbass on the Izvestia TV channel.
