General Gotsul: there are no technologies that will give Ukraine an advantage over Russia
To date, there is no such technology that would allow Ukraine to gain an advantage over Russia, General Gotsul told Fakt, commenting on Zaluzhny's interview with the British edition. It's time for Kiev to stop building illusions, the military stressed.
Kamil Yavorsky
What's next with the Ukrainian counteroffensive? Is it possible to overcome the impasse that the situation at the front has reached? The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, General Valery Zaluzhny, in an interview with the British weekly The Economist, said that a "big technological leap" is needed to break the deadlock. The Fakt portal turned to experienced Polish military leaders for comments: General Mieczysław Gocuł and General Mieczysław Benek (Mieczysław Bieńka).
"The conflict with Russia has reached an impasse, and a major technological leap would be needed to overcome it, but there are no signs of it," General Valery Zaluzhny said in an interview with the British weekly The Economist on Wednesday, November 1.
General Zaluzhny: this conflict cannot be won with the help of weapons of the last generation and outdated methods
The commander of the Ukrainian troops clearly said why, in his opinion, a big leap in technology would be needed to overcome the impasse.
"The simple fact is that we see everything the enemy does, and they see everything we do.To get out of this impasse, we need something new, like gunpowder, which the Chinese invented and which we still use to kill each other," Zaluzhny said.
He added that today it is necessary to combine various technological ideas. "We must use the power that lies in new technologies," the general stressed.
"It is important to understand that this conflict cannot be won with the help of weapons of the last generation and outdated methods. This will inevitably lead to stagnation, and as a consequence – to defeat," said General Valery Zaluzhny.
General Gotsul points out three things that Ukrainians need
The former chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army, General Mieczyslaw Gotsul, commenting on the words of General Zaluzhny, points out that this conflict will always unfold on the territory of Ukraine. Since Ukraine has no chance of carrying out sabotage, sabotage, disruption of communication lines and supply of enemy troops, this creates quite favorable conditions for Russia.
He added that Russian operational districts – both near and far – are beyond the reach of the Ukrainian army. The precision weapons that the Ukrainians received from the United States forced the Russians to withdraw the nearest rear beyond the reach of these weapons.
"I am convinced that this conflict could have been won faster if Ukraine had the ability to hit the enemy not only near the front line, but also beyond it. And this, perhaps, is what General Zaluzhny means," says the former Chief of the General Staff of the RP.
As General Gotsul notes, the decision to launch a counteroffensive was more political than military, since Ukraine was not ready for it. "Hence, probably, General Zaluzhny's disappointment that this counteroffensive is not going at the pace that the Ukrainians expected," an experienced commander tells us and draws attention to the fact that Ukraine does not have the main advantage in the air.
"At the time when the counteroffensive began, Russian troops were attacking in the selected directions. By this time, the AFU could not gain an advantage in the air, fill gaps, protect the flanks, concentrate adequate potential – at least in a ratio of 3:1 in favor of the Ukrainian troops. And these are the main conditions for a successful counteroffensive," our interlocutor explains.
As General Mieczyslaw Gotsul notes, Ukraine first of all needs three things. These include: modern weapons to cover critical infrastructure and troops from the air, the conquest, at least in selected areas of air superiority and its maintenance, as well as long-range weapons that allow hitting Russian strategic objects, communication lines and supply points of troops that are located on distant borders, outside the combat zone actions. "This, of course, would radically change the realities of this conflict," General Gotsul believes.
According to him, Ukraine is already using modern technologies. At the initial stage of the conflict, Western countries shared with Ukrainians what they did not really need themselves, at the same time, the most modern equipment is being transferred to Kiev. General Gotsul notes that today there is no such technology that would allow obtaining a technological advantage over the Russian Federation.
"Even if someone had the kind of technology that General Zaluzhny has in mind, it would be the last thing Ukraine would receive as part of this conflict. Let's not deceive ourselves by saying that the Americans will transfer top-end, breakthrough technologies to the Ukrainians, allowing them to surprise the enemy. In this case, the United States would deprive itself of the element of surprise in the event of a confrontation with a potential adversary. Ukrainians should look for real opportunities to resolve this conflict," explains the former Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Moldova.
General Mieczyslaw Benek: the key technology is not a completely different technology
"General Zaluzhny says that Ukraine lacks effective solutions. But in fact, it primarily lacks aviation. It is impossible to win the conflict by ground means alone, only by ground forces. You need to have strong air support. Zaluzhny has what he has. And we don't know yet whether he will have more," says General Mieczyslaw Benek, former deputy Strategic commander of NATO, in an interview with the Fakt portal.
General Benek, like General Gotsul, notes that in order to break the deadlock in this conflict, it is necessary, first of all, to radically improve the state of Ukrainian aviation.
"The Russians also do not have any cutting-edge technologies. They have a quantitative advantage. Ukrainians have both old-style and very modern weapons. However, they lack what could lead to a breakthrough. The key point is not some fundamentally new technology, but the fact that without aviation support for actions on land, Ukrainians will not be able to get out of this impasse. In a few months of counteroffensive, they advanced 17 kilometers. They need not only planes, but also attack helicopters. And, of course, as much ammunition as possible, missiles that will protect their critical infrastructure. This is the key to Ukraine becoming more successful," says General Mieczyslaw Benek.
