Exclusive: Ukrainian Army Chief Reveals Strategy Behind Kursk Storming

Russia was planning to launch a new attack on Ukraine from the Kursk region before the surprise invasion of Kiev, Ukrainian army commander General Oleksandr Syrskyi told CNN in an exclusive interview this Thursday (5).

In his first television interview since becoming military chief in February, the general told Christiane Amanpour, anchor of CNN, who believes that the Kursk operation was a success.

“This reduced the threat of an enemy offensive. We prevented them from acting. We moved the fight into enemy territory so that [o inimigo] could feel what we feel every day,” Syrskyi claimed.

Last month, Ukrainian forces stormed Kursk in a raid that caught even U.S. officials by surprise. It signaled that despite Russia’s advantage in troops and armor, its military has vulnerabilities.

Main objectives of the invasion

Syrskyi explained to CNN the main objectives of the operation in Kursk:

  • prevent Russia from using Kursk as a “launching platform” for a new offensive
  • divert Moscow’s forces from other areas
  • create a safe zone
  • prevent cross-border bombing of civilian targets
  • capture prisoners of war
  • and increase the morale of Ukrainian troops and the nation in general

Speaking to Amanpour at an undisclosed location near the front line, the general said Moscow had moved tens of thousands of troops to Kursk, including some of its best airborne assault troops.

And while he admitted that Ukraine was under immense pressure in the area around Pokrovsk, the strategic city that has for weeks been the epicenter of the war in the east of the country, Syrskyi said his troops had now managed to halt Russian advances in the region.

“Over the past six days, the enemy has not advanced a single meter in the direction of Pokrovsk. In other words, our strategy is working,” he said.

“We took away their ability to maneuver and deploy their reinforcement forces from other directions… and this weakening was definitely felt in other areas. We noticed that the amount of artillery shelling, as well as the intensity of the offensive, decreased,” he said.

Ukraine has fewer weapons and soldiers

Before the interview CNN On Thursday, Syrskyi had inspected the front line of the battle. He pointed out that there is no doubt that Ukraine is outgunned and outnumbered as it tries to defend itself from Russian aggression.

“The enemy has an advantage in aviation, in missiles, in artillery, in the amount of ammunition it uses, of course, in personnel, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles,” he pondered.


But Syrskyi also said that the fact that Russia has a material advantage has forced Ukraine to become smarter and more efficient in the way it is fighting the war.

“We cannot fight in the same way as them, so we must use, first of all, the most effective approach, use our forces and means making the most of the terrain features, engineering structures and, also, use technical superiority,” he noted.

The general also cited Ukraine’s advanced drone program and other domestically developed high-tech weapons.

Critical moment of the war

Syrskyi was appointed Ukraine’s commander-in-chief in February after President Volodymyr Zelensky fired General Valerii Zaluzhnyi. He took over at a particularly difficult time for Ukraine.

Months-long delays in the delivery of US military assistance have caused critical ammunition shortages.

At the same time, Ukraine was struggling to replenish its troops, exhausted and battered after fighting off Russia’s relentless offensive for two years.

Syrskyi noted that recruiting more soldiers was a priority. The Ukrainian government passed a controversial mobilization law requiring all men between the ages of 18 and 60 to register with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and carry their registration documents with them at all times.

This neduda was part of an effort to make the recruitment process more transparent and fair.

Seven months later, new recruits are arriving at the front lines, but several commanders told the CNN that not all new soldiers are ready to fight and are routinely abandoning their positions.

Syrskyi admitted that his troops are going into battle after receiving less training than he would like.

“Of course, everyone wants the level of training to be the best, so we train highly qualified professional military personnel,” he stressed.

“At the same time, the dynamics at the front require us to put recruits into service as quickly as possible,” he said, explaining that new recruits receive a month of basic military training followed by half a month to a full month of more specialized training before being sent to fight.

Syrskyi told Amanpour that delays in U.S. military assistance caused major setbacks on the battlefield and led to a drop in morale — something he admitted was still a problem.

He said he makes frequent trips to the front lines and ensures he spends time with his troops.

“We speak the same language… we understand each other no matter who I’m talking to — whether it’s a regular soldier, a sniper, for example, or a brigade commander or a battalion commander,” he assured.

“I have been in this war since 2014,” he noted, referring to Russia’s invasion of the Donbass region 10 years ago.

“In other words, the front line is my life. We understand each other, I know all the problems our military, soldiers and officers face,” he added.

Syrskyi ended the interview by thanking Ukraine’s Western allies for their support. Switching from Ukrainian to English, he said: “Together we are stronger. Together we can win.”

This content was originally published in Exclusive: Ukrainian Army Chief reveals strategy behind Kursk invasion on CNN Brasil.

Source: CNN Brasil

You may also like