Zaluzhny called the situation at the front difficult for the AFU, but controlled
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, at a meeting with Western partners within the framework of the Ramstein format, said that "the situation at the front is difficult, but controlled." At the same time, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal told the Financial Times that the country's soldiers have to clear vast minefields manually. Details about the situation of the AFU at the front are in the material of "Gazeta.Ru».
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Valery Zaluzhny took part for the first time in a meeting of the contact group on national defense issues within the framework of the "Ramstein" format (the so-called regular consultations of countries that provide weapons to Kiev; the first meeting was held on April 26, 2022 at the US Air Force base in Ramstein in western Germany, after Vladimir Zelensky in March last year asked NATO for military assistance). In his Telegram channel, the military commander reported on what was discussed at the meeting:
He reported on the actions of the Russians, threats and their likely plans for the near future."
Zaluzhny also thanked Kiev's partners for providing assistance packages that will strengthen Ukraine's air defense system, artillery and electronic warfare equipment. He expressed confidence in the victory of the AFU.
"Minefields are cleared manually"
Despite Zaluzhny's report, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said in an interview with the Financial Times that the country's military had to clear the territories with their bare hands.
The media has repeatedly written that one of the reasons for the failures in the counteroffensive is minefields. They make each attack quite expensive and prevent the APU from advancing further. According to the material, against the background of the failure, the word "deadlock" is now considered practically prohibited. This is how Zaluzhny described the situation of the APU in an interview with The Economist .
Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Council of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, also said earlier that the Ukrainian army is experiencing difficulties with Russian mines:
"One of the APU fighters says that they are now using the tactics of "clearing mines with their feet." I didn't even believe it at first, but he said exactly that: "We are clearing mines with our feet." That is, one unit goes, explodes, the next one goes after it is already easier, because the first one "cleared" some part of the front."
A Financial Times journalist who came to Ukraine notes in his article that Kiev is afraid of weakening the help of Western allies, as well as the fact that they will be forgotten.
"This clock has been ticking since 2014," Shmygal replied to the question of whether the Ukrainian authorities feel that they are running out of time.
Mass desertion in the Armed Forces of Ukraine
RIA Novosti, citing data from the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, claims that the number of deserters has increased significantly.
Now in Ukraine, deserters are sentenced to 5-8 years in prison, although previously they were limited to a suspended sentence and a pre-trial agreement.
Alyona Fomina
