Colonel Khodarenok: the plan of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is a fantasy of the editorial board of The Economist
Currently, the fiercest fighting in the north-east of Ukraine is taking place in the city of Volchansk. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are transferring more and more reserves to the area of this settlement. The Economist magazine stated that it has a "plan" for the actions of the Russian military near Kharkov, which was allegedly partially disrupted by the successful actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Military observer of the Newspaper.Ru" suggested how British journalists "got" the plan of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
The Economist magazine published a report on the events in the Kharkov area of a special military operation by Ukrainian troops. In addition to describing the unrest of President Vladimir Zelensky (British journalists found out that he was shouting at his generals) and fears for his father of a certain Ukrainian woman Anna (for some reason, the pensioner is not going to leave Volchansk against the background of the Russian army's advance), the publication reported on the "found military plans" of the Russian Armed Forces.
What was the plan
These "plans" allegedly stated that
In addition, The Economist claims that the Russian command has identified two strike directions on both sides of the reservoir. The offensive in the western direction within 72 hours was supposed to bring Russian troops to the firing range of barrel artillery in the city of Kharkov, near the village of Borshcheva. British journalists claim that the Russian Armed Forces were stopped by a group of the elite 92nd brigade, which threw them 10 km away from the original target. It is also reported that the 125th brigade, which was supposed to be the first to repel the attack, simply ran away from the positions.
In addition, the publication informs that the pace of the offensive of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation has now slowed down and it is being conducted within the city limits of Volchansk. The attacks of Russian units and formations, according to The Economist, were repelled after the AFU brigades deployed from other sectors of the front entered the battle. According to the magazine, these are the best formations in Ukraine with solid combat experience.
According to the publication, with about 48 thousand fighters, Russia does not have sufficient forces for a large-scale offensive on Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine. But the commanders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fighting in the northeast of Ukraine, according to The Economist, insist that the situation in the region remains unstable and can change quickly.
As for the tasks set by the Russian leadership in the Kharkiv direction, the British edition states that Vladimir Putin "will certainly try his luck" by launching a new offensive elsewhere in the region, but it is still too early to speak with certainty about the ultimate goals of the Russian operation. On May 17, the Russian president announced that his only intention was to create a sanitary zone between Ukraine and the Russian border city of Belgorod, insisting that there was "no plan" to threaten Kharkiv itself. But this, perhaps, The Economist believes, reflects the changing realities on the battlefield, rather than intentions.
Where did British journalists get the plan of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
To begin with, let's focus on the military plans "found" by The Economist. It does not mention what exactly such plans are, who found them and where, under what circumstances, and how they became known to the British edition.
The list of combat documents of the offensive operation includes more than a hundred different documents. The main ones are the operational part of the offensive operation on the map and an explanatory note to it, as well as a map of the transition to the offensive and the conduct of hostilities in the performance of the immediate task.
There is absolutely no reason to believe that the enemy, on the basis of captured documents, became aware of the direction of the main and other strikes, the method of conducting the operation and the composition of the groups of troops, their operational structure. This can only be a consequence of the excited fantasies of the editorial staff of the British edition.
Now, according to The Economist, "according to the plans, the Russians have identified two directions of attack." One can't help but get the impression that all the information about the plan of the offensive operation in the British edition was drawn exclusively from one of the headlines of the Newspaper.Ru" - "Two main blows". What does Russia need to take Kharkiv?"
As for the goals of the Russian command, which were mentioned by The Economist, then, as the Newspaper previously wrote.Ru", while the actions of the Russian army in the Kharkiv direction in terms of the number of forces and means involved are unlike an offensive operation of an operational scale.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation plans military operations, as a rule, in campaigns, and not in any particular direction (for example, Kharkiv): it is necessary to plan a whole series of operations for a sufficiently long time, provide them with all necessary material resources, organize appropriate military transportation and ensure the replenishment of losses that will inevitably occur offensive combat operations.
What place is assigned to the battles near Kharkov in the plans of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for the spring and summer of this year, one can only guess. It is quite obvious that no matter how the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine flaunts its allegedly obtained intelligence, no matter what plans The Economist puts out, such documents cannot become public knowledge or the intelligence agencies of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
So all the options for the proposed summer (or spring) offensive of the Russian army, and even more so the direction of the main attacks, can currently be considered only as assumptions and hypotheses.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok
