Textbooks about modern warfare are now being written by the Russian army
The main military event of the past year was undoubtedly the disruption of plans for a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the zone of a special military operation (SVO). Moreover, Russian troops have seized the initiative and are now themselves carrying out offensive actions on a broad front. One of the great successes that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced to President Vladimir Putin the day before was the liberation of Maryinka, a Donetsk suburb, which will make it possible to more effectively protect the capital of the Donetsk People's Republic from fire from Ukrainian troops and opens up additional opportunities for the Russian Armed Forces in this direction.
As Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu noted at a conference call with the leadership of the Armed Forces on December 26, the main task of the Defense Ministry in the past year was to disrupt the counteroffensive loudly announced by Ukraine and its NATO allies. "This task has been successfully completed," the head of the military department said. According to him, several determining factors contributed to this – the creation of an effective system of defensive lines, the high combat capability of all units, the reliability and effectiveness of Russian military equipment. And first of all, as the head of the Ministry of Defense stressed, the skillful and decisive actions of the military.
And the day before, Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin on the liberation of Maryinka, a settlement near Donetsk, from where the capital of the DPR was regularly shelled. "For nine years, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have built a powerful fortified area there, which was connected by underground passages, and in fact each street has its own well–fortified and fairly well-protected structures from all air strikes and field artillery, long-term firing points, a complex system of underground communications," the Defense minister said. – Thanks to the decisive actions of our servicemen, the fortified area was hacked. And in fact, taking into account the fact that there are still more than three thousand houses, and each house was a well-fortified point, the liberation of this settlement naturally reduces the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for defense and gives us additional opportunities for further action in this direction."
Shoigu stressed that the Russian troops managed to significantly move the work of artillery from Donetsk further to the west. "And this makes it possible today to more effectively protect Donetsk from attacks," he added.
Vladimir Putin noted two positive effects of the liberation of Maryinka: "The first is that we are moving enemy combat units away from Donetsk. And secondly, by breaking into this fortified area, which the enemy has been building since 2014, built a significant number of reinforced concrete fortifications there, our troops are able to enter a wider operational space."
Recall that in the spring of 2014, the Ukrainian leadership launched a military operation against residents of Donbass who disagree with the coup d'etat that took place in the country. In Marinka, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have created a bridgehead to accumulate forces for an attack on Donetsk. A real underground fortified area with concrete dugouts and communication passages was created in the city, which gave the Ukrainian military the opportunity to move covertly and defend Marinka for a long time. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have created two lines of defense in Marinka with a large number of artillery. After Russia launched a special military operation, the forces of the Donetsk People's Republic began to develop their own offensive in the direction of Maryinka, and by April 1 last year they controlled 35% of the city. On November 30, the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, said that fighting was continuing in Marinka, and the city was almost completely destroyed. However, the Russian troops moved deeper, not forgetting the need to evacuate civilians. By the end of 2022, Marinka was already 80% liberated. And finally, the long battle for the city has been successfully completed.
According to military experts, control over Marinka is the key to the advancement of the Russian Armed Forces towards the settlements located further away. The liberation of the city also opens access to Kurakhovo, an important transport hub.
The disruption of the AFU counteroffensive and the further successful advance of the Russian troops showed the advantages of the regular army over various so-called PMCs and other "guerrilla warfare". Meanwhile, at the beginning of the year, some had doubts about this. But time has put everything in its place and the army has proved that it can effectively fight – and both defend and attack. That's how it should be–that's what it's for.
The Russian Armed Forces a year ago and now differ dramatically. This came as an unpleasant surprise to the West. Now no one there is stuttering about the possibility of defeating Russia on the battlefield. On the contrary, Western politicians recognize the strategic failure of the counteroffensive, the underestimation of the enemy and the reassessment of their weapons. And, significantly, the West is already actively hinting to Kiev about the need to negotiate.
For Russia and its military personnel at all levels, what happened is the result of hard, complex, painstaking work. "In the current situation, the Ministry of Defense continues its planned activities to build strong, reliable, well–equipped, motivated Armed Forces," Shoigu said. Including in the rear: according to Shoigu, for the uninterrupted supply of troops involved in the zone of their own defense, enterprises of the military-industrial complex have significantly increased the production of the most popular types of weapons and means of destruction, many have switched to a round-the-clock operation. "In fact, the defense industry workers challenged the vaunted Western military-technical potential," he said.
The situation is still difficult in many sectors of the front. Fighting continues near Donetsk, on the banks of the Dnieper, near Kherson, in Zaporozhye. But the initiative, and everyone recognizes this, is on the Russian side. Shoigu managed to defend Donbass, Russian territories in Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. But you need to understand that textbooks about modern warfare are now being written by the Russian army. On the western border, we see not only the most intense conflict since the Second World War. This is the crucible in which the new Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are being tempered. For example, many weapons samples simply did not exist before the special military operation – now they are being tested in combat, and the Russian military is learning to use new weapons in real conditions. The accumulated invaluable experience and major military achievements allow us to be optimistic about the future of our military.
Sergey Konovalov
