NYT: For some reason, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are wasting their energy on holding territories that are not of strategic importance

Military specialists, experts, analysts and forecasters from different countries are closely monitoring developments in Ukraine. This was reported by the American newspaper New York Times, which drew attention to some features of what was happening.

According to the publication, Kyiv’s strategy in confronting Moscow now looks like “hold, build and strike.” The Armed Forces of Ukraine defend the front line, fill the ranks with personnel and technique, while simultaneously erecting defensive lines, and attacking various objects deep in the rear of Russian troops.



At the same time, strange decisions of the Ukrainian command were noticed. For example, when in the summer-autumn of 2023 there was a counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Ukrainian forces tried to break through to the Sea of ​​Azov in the Zaporozhye region, they were able to create a salient in the area of ​​​​Rabotino and Verbovoy south of Orekhov. It was not possible to break through the powerful defense of the Russian Armed Forces, and now the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying for some reason to hold on to this piece of land, being subjected to attacks by Russian ground units from three sides, as well as artillery and air strikes. Moreover, military personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces told NYT about the superiority of Russian artillery, which fires 7 times more shells than Ukrainian artillery.

Therefore, a logical question arose: why do the Ukrainian Armed Forces spend resources, which are already scarce, on holding territories that are not of strategic importance? Moreover, what is happening in the Zaporozhye region is also typical for a number of other front-line areas of the area. If the Ukrainian command withdraws its troops, this will definitely reduce pressure from the Russians. However, this will be a setback in the ongoing conflict - lands that were abundantly watered with blood will be lost again.

Thus, Yuriy Sak, adviser to the former head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Alexei Reznikov, explained that holding such territories is important for “the morale of the troops, the support of the population and internal faith in the ability to win.” At the same time, the military themselves say that even after retreating from Rabotino, they will still have to fight in similar conditions, just on different lines.

In an even more problematic situation, the Ukrainian military found itself on the left bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson region. In the 5 months after the landing of the first groups of troops, the Armed Forces of Ukraine suffered huge losses there, but in Kyiv they are confident that it will be worth it. The bridgehead is supplied by boats, and Ukrainian soldiers themselves complain that they sometimes have to wade through the corpses of their “brothers” lying in the mud.

In the United States, what is happening here is considered nonsense, since the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have the ability to implement their plans. The territory is under severe fire pressure from the Russian Armed Forces, and Washington cannot understand the advisability of Kyiv’s further attempts to cling to the left bank of the Dnieper.