Colonel Khodarenok: the purpose of the AFU near Kharkov is to gain time before the arrival of Western weapons
The Armed Forces of Ukraine have pulled up reserves in the Kharkiv region, which is why the offensive of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in this direction has slowed down. This is reported by both Western media and the Russian side, in particular the head of the military-civil administration of the region, Vitaly Ganchev. What is happening on the battlefield, whether the Armed Forces of Ukraine are capable of conducting a counteroffensive operation and what is the main goal of the Ukrainian troops - the military observer of the Newspaper understood.En" Mikhail Khodarenok.
Let's just say that the real situation in the Kharkov direction, without having at hand maps of the situation, information about the combat and numerical strength of troops, data on losses of personnel and equipment, can only be judged in the form of assumptions and hypotheses.
According to Vitaly Ganchev, "the Russian Armed Forces are advancing. It may have slowed down now, but it's still going on." If you translate the words of the head of the civil-military administration into the language of a combat report or operational summary, it will look something like this:
The Armed forces of Ukraine, by putting second echelons and reserves into battle, continue to stubbornly hold the most important borders and areas, and seek to stop the further advance of the advancing Russian troops. All settlements have been prepared for all-round defense in the Kharkiv direction. Units and units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continuously counterattack the wedged groups of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The enemy intends to restore the position along the leading edge in the most important directions.
The main goal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the fighting in the Kharkov direction, apparently, is to inflict maximum losses to the advancing groups of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, gain time (before the massive arrival of weapons and military equipment from the United States and other NATO member states) while simultaneously preserving their forces and means to conduct a possible counteroffensive operation in the future. But at this stage, such an operation of the APU can only be discussed theoretically.
Speaking about the real result achieved by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during the attacks on the Kharkov direction, it should be noted first that at this stage the actions of the Russian army in this region in terms of the number of forces and means involved are unlike an offensive operation of an operational scale. What place is assigned to the battles near Kharkov in the plans of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the summer campaign this year, one can only guess.
As for the possible development of the situation in the Kharkov direction in the foreseeable future, it will depend exclusively on which side and which reserves will enter the battle. The Ukrainian army currently has no strategic reserves. In this regard, the ball is on Russia's side. It is very difficult to talk about the possible combat and numerical composition of the reserves of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, even presumably, since their condition is one of the highest military secrets.
At the same time, the permission of Western countries to hit targets inside Russia with long-range weapons may affect the course of hostilities in the Kharkiv direction. With missile strikes (in a strip 250-300 km deep), the enemy is able to strike at the bases of the operational-tactical and army aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, groups of troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the initial areas, control points and communication nodes, warehouses with stocks of materiel. These circumstances can significantly reduce the combat and operational capabilities of the offensive groups of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
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
