Kiev is planning further military leadership and general staff reshuffles amid dismal battlefield failures.
Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky has touted plans to make changes and bring in “more experienced” officers in an interview with state media. “Our headquarters should know all of the battlefield’s needs and should understand the situation on every part of the front,” Syrsky stated, adding:
“And for that, the skills of the officers who are part of the military administration come to the foreground.”
After a headline-grabbing shakeup of the Ukrainian military’s command by President Volodymyr Zelensky in February, then-Commander-in-Chief General Valery Zaluzhny was swapped for Syrsky.
Oleksandr Syrsky, who as commander of Ukraine's Ground Forces reportedly earned himself the grizzly reputation of the “Butcher" among his troops, on Friday finally sat down for his first interview since his appointment. He weighed in on everything from Zaluzhny’s sacking to Ukraine’s scramble to build defensive lines.
Regarding the planned reshuffle, he omitted saying just how many of the officials who served under his predecessor would be ditched. What he did reveal, however, was that “a review of internal resources” had allowed the military to reconsider drafting the initially discussed 500,000 people. A new number was not given, but Syrsky said it would be “significantly” smaller, adding:
“We expect to have enough people to protect the fatherland, and we are talking not only about those conscripted but also about volunteers.”
Which, incidentally, begs the question how this is possible amid rapidly-dwindling personnel and resources. It is a well-known fact that Ukraine's recruitment efforts have been sowing panic, with draft-eligible men fleeing "certain death."
NATO's proxy war against Russia in Ukraine is not only drained of ammo, but is rapidly running out of military personnel. As growing numbers of fighting-age men are either dying in combat, deserting active-duty service, or dodging the draft, the Kiev regime is desperate to round up more draft-eligible men to throw into the "meat grinder." Incidentally, Syrsky himself gained notoriety for relentlessly sending successive waves of Ukrainian troops into meat grinder battles in the Donbass city of Artemovsk (Bakhmut), and losing tens of thousands of men. Russian troops subsequently liberated the city last May.
Regarding the dismissal of Zaluzhny, who admitted in November that Kiev’s failed counteroffensive had turned into a “stalemate,” Syrsky retorted that “there were good reasons for this.”
“The military has one duty - we do not discuss orders, we carry them out. Therefore, if the president of the country, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, had reasons for such a replacement, especially during the active phase of the war, this means that these reasons were significant,” Syrsky said.
He also indicated that Ukraine was determined to dig in ahead of an anticipated Russian offensive, saying:
“We are preparing solid defensive lines in almost all directions that are under threat.”
Oleksandr Syrsky’s remarks about planned military reshuffles come as Volodymyr Zelensky fired a number of advisers and assistants on Saturday, after earlier shaking up his Cabinet on March 26.
After the botched 2023 counteroffensive, the issue of Ukraine’s fortifications, or rather lack thereof, has come to the forefront.
With troop and hardware losses mounting, and no US aid forthcoming amid a congressional deadlock on the issue, Zelensky and his clique have been singing a different tune than that of last year, and the "attack” rhetoric has been substituted with defense chatter.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal have acknowledged the need for boosted fortifications, particularly after their own forces came up against Russia’s formidable three lines of well-designed defenses. Shmyhal stated at a press briefing on January 24 that Ukraine was also going to build a three-tiered defense line.
However, Western legacy outlets have lately allowed themselves some blame-laying at the feet of the officials in Kiev. According to their reports, Western warnings about the need for building fortifications had gone unheeded.
Ukrainian opposition lawmakers have also been cited as fearing that there is now far too little time for Kiev to construct the much-needed defenses in earnest.
After Volodymyr Zelensky told the US press that he wants to build defensive structures all the way from Donbass to Western Ukraine, Russian military observers crunched up some numbers and said that doing so would cost at least $10 billion and take eight to nine months to build.
Russian military experts voiced their doubts to Sputnik that the West would be eager to subsidize the endeavor. They added that even if the defense line is built, it is unlikely to prevent Moscow from accomplishing the special military operation's objectives.