Ukrainian top general assesses start of Russian offensive on Sumy, Kharkiv regions. Serhiy Zgurets’ column

Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief assesses frontline situation

Russia's offensive in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions has effectively begun, as we are seeing nearly a twofold increase in Russia’s offensive actions on these and other fronts. Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi stated this in an interview with a Ukrainian outlet. The interview includes many details about past stages of combat, the offensive on Bakhmut, which Ukraine didn't manage to liberate due to a lack of strength and resources, and the reasons and consequences of the Kursk operation.

And, of course, there was mention of a publication in the New York Times, which claimed there was a lack of trust between Syrskyi and American generals. Syrskyi responded by saying he learned a lot from that article about things he supposedly said and did. "I’m curious," Syrskyi says, "who came up with that."

But all of this is worth analyzing later; Syrskyi’s assessment, primarily regarding the current situation on the frontline, is of course more important. The general believes that, fundamentally, Russia's goals have not changed.

"Russia is currently continuing its strategic offensive operation with the aim of capturing our territory, defeating our forces, advancing deeper into our territory, and seeking to completely capture Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. They aim to create a buffer zone in the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions," says Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Recently, Russia's combat activity has certainly increased, with the Russians increasing the number of troops involved in combat operations. Since the beginning of the aggression, Russia has expanded its grouping fivefold. Despite monthly losses of about 40,000 personnel, the Russian army is still growing by approximately 8,000-9,000 each month, which amounts to about 120,000 per year.

Currently, the Russian grouping totals 623,000, according to Oleksandr Syrskyi. This advantage is already impacting the frontline, where Russian forces are still maintaining the initiative.

Syrskyi also notes that the Russian daily munitions use has started to slowly increase. In the fall of 2024, the Russians used about 40,000 munitions daily. After a series of Ukraine’s strikes on Russian munitions depots and storage sites, artillery intensity decreased to 23,000 munitions. However, it has now started to gradually rise again to about 27,000 daily shots from the Russians. Oleksandr Syrskyi believes this is partly due to the likely resumption of munitions supplies from North Korea.

What should be done about the situation on the frontline, and which directions does Syrskyi consider the most priority? First and foremost, conducting active defense and counteroffensive actions remain important priorities, as these measures have proven effective. In fact, they disrupt Russia's plans.

Two other directions are technological: focusing on the development of drone systems in the air and on the ground, creating new units that operate these strike systems. This could partially reduce the need for personnel.

The third direction is improving combat training, which goes hand in hand with mobilization and recruitment. As Syrskyi says, Russia's mobilization potential is around 5 million people who have already undergone training.

Overall, Russia's mobilization resource is 20 million, so, under these conditions, Ukraine must, of course, conduct mobilization and transfers, Syrskyi adds, likely referring to moving personnel from rear units to combat units. All of this is yielding results, according to the general.

Regarding the pace of mobilization, he refers to the president's statement that the mobilization rate should be around 30,000 per month, but it is important that this happens with the appropriate preparation of personnel. Syrskyi says that under these conditions, even if U.S. assistance with weapons and equipment significantly decreases, Ukraine still needs to rely on its own forces. In cooperation with European partners, a positive outcome will be achieved in any case.

Atlas project: enhancing frontline defense with electronic warfare systems

When Syrskyi speaks about Ukraine relying on its own forces, he mentions robotic platforms for various purposes, EW systems, and other areas where the country is succeeding and making progress. Therefore, it is important to discuss the specific components of these directions, particularly the situation with radio-electronic warfare and our developments.

There are projects here that truly deserve attention, which could significantly strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities through the implementation of solutions that European countries do not yet have, but Ukraine's leading companies do. This was further explained by the CEO of Kvertus, Yaroslav Filimonov.

Two months ago, the Atlas project was launched. It is quite ambitious, aiming to create a defense system along almost the entire length of the front line. Yaroslav Filimonov reminded us of what this project entails, how it is being implemented, and the progress made in this ambitious direction.

"The Atlas project is primarily designed to organize defense against drones along the 1,300-kilometer front line. It aims to protect the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, equipment, and positions, safeguarding them from drones. It's important to provide examples. It is known that at some positions where these complexes are already operating, drone strikes have decreased more than fivefold. So, if a position was previously hit by 150 drones a day, now only 7-10 make it through. This is a very good result."

What exactly does the Atlas system do, and what is its function? It includes a radio-electronic reconnaissance unit. This unit can detect any type of drone at a distance of up to 30 km and promptly signals when a drone is approaching. The system also includes the MIRAGE electronic warfare unit, he explained.

MIRAGE is a cutting-edge development by the company — an intelligent EW system that does not require fixed jamming on fixed frequencies. Instead, it can generate interference on the exact frequencies used by the enemy drone in flight, Yaroslav Filimonov said.

"Accordingly, in this setup, AZIMUTH (a UAV detection station) detects a moving drone, and MIRAGE neutralizes it. In this configuration, they operate almost fully automatically. The entire system is controlled directly from a laptop, which can be used from a shelter or any secure location to remotely manage the entire system. It can consist of a single AZIMUTH and five MIRAGE units, or scale up to 200 AZIMUTH and a thousand MIRAGE units," he noted.

The expert emphasized that these systems are already operating on the front line.

"They are already operating on the front line and have been delivering results for over three months. As for improvements — they never stop. R&D, the development of new products, is a continuous process of enhancement. We are constantly finding ways — both in EW and in reconnaissance systems — to add functionality, improve firmware, increase the sensitivity of the antenna-feeder system, and optimize the processes of automatic detection and neutralization. This process never stops. The improvements we implement can easily be applied via firmware updates over the internet. Accordingly, all the systems already operating on the front line don't need to be brought back to our production facilities for updates. Everything is done remotely online, and they continue working," noted Yaroslav Filimonov.

He also spoke about whether the Atlas project is designed to counter such enemy threats as glide bombs, Shaheds, and cruise missiles.

"Our company is developing solutions in all directions, including countering glide bombs, but the Atlas project specifically is primarily intended to protect against FPV drones and kamikaze drones. These are currently the biggest threat on the front line, as over 60% of strikes are carried out by FPV drones. It can also counter other types of drones, like Mavic and Autel, which are used for dropping munitions or for reconnaissance," he explained.

At the same time, Yaroslav Filimonov noted that soldiers are often surprised and don’t believe such functionality is possible — until they see it with their own eyes. Then they’re truly impressed.

"Of course, the military’s attitude toward any technological innovation in the field of electronic warfare and reconnaissance is positive. Many soldiers are initially skeptical because they don’t believe in the possibility of detecting and jamming drones, or of remotely controlling an entire complex like this. But once they see it in action, they’re amazed and impressed. The system itself is primarily designed for specialists in electronic warfare and reconnaissance. Our other tools, which work on white noise and fixed frequencies — we call those analog systems — are made for the average soldier in the trench: one button, press it, and the drone falls. But these new tools are more advanced and require proper training. That’s why, before delivering the equipment, we train the end users — EW and SIGINT specialists — who will operate the system. We also provide support. In the first month, we’re constantly in touch. You can call us with any questions. We can even connect remotely to any device to show how to properly configure it or correct any setup mistakes. So this isn’t just about buying a device — it’s a full-service process from training and delivery to ongoing support during use," he emphasized.

We’re talking about AZIMUTH as an ambitious project along a significant stretch of the frontline. Naturally, the question arises — can parallel projects be implemented within the zones of responsibility of the newly formed corps? So that each corps becomes the operator within its own area of responsibility.

“That is exactly the idea. We provide users with different levels of access: at the corps level, the head of EW for the corps will have access; at the brigade level, the brigade EW chief will have access for his section; and at the battalion level, the battalion EW chief will have access. So this is a multi-level system with remote operation capabilities. And this is precisely how we’re implementing the project — step by step. Because of course, to immediately cover 1,300 km, we would need a lot of equipment — more than 5,000 MIRAGE units and over 250 AZIMUTH systems. The state currently doesn’t have the capacity to fund that volume all at once. That’s why we’re executing it gradually. Specific high-priority sectors and brigades that need the equipment most will receive it first, along with our support and training. We’ll work together with them to fight drones. And as the project progresses, we’ll continue covering more areas,” said the CEO of Kvertus.

This means that if a battalion, brigade, or corps commander — or the officer responsible for EW — has access to the system, they can plan the use of their own FPV drones in a way that the EW capabilities integrated into Atlas don’t interfere with their own strike operations.

“The core logic behind how this equipment works is that enemy drones will be neutralized only on the frequencies they use to approach us. This means that EW and ELINT specialists, as well as drone operators, will understand which frequencies their own drones can safely operate on. We’re not talking about jamming an entire band from 300 to 1300 MHz so that nothing can fly — neither enemy drones nor ours. We’re talking about an intelligent system that only disables drones on the specific frequencies they’re using. This, in turn, allows our drones to fly through unused frequencies. That’s extremely important because a large percentage of drone losses happen due to ‘friendly fire.’ This system helps solve that problem,” the expert explained.

We know that European countries are allocating — or planning to allocate — significant funds toward areas they consider priorities, which could be directed to support Ukrainian defense-industrial complex and specific sectors. In this context, EW (Electronic Warfare) truly appears to be a priority area. Yaroslav Filimonov spoke about whether the Kvertus team’s cooperation with European states could somehow be transformed so that they also contribute financially to this project.

"We’re working on it. We’re fundraising for this project. It’s essentially a private initiative. We plan to collect funds from anyone willing — businesses, ordinary people — and we’re not limiting ourselves to Ukraine’s borders. We’re in talks with various representatives, including planned events in different European countries; the next one will take place in London. We’re seeking funding through channels such as the Danish program, and we’ve had discussions with the Danish embassy about joining the project. We’re also negotiating with several major Ukrainian companies — some are helping with awareness, others with fundraising, and some are making financial contributions. This is a large-scale project for Ukraine, and of course, it cannot be implemented with the support of just one business. To implement this project — which we estimate at 5.2 billion UAH to cover the entire 1,300 km of the front line — we need as many people, companies, and businesses as possible to join in, both within Ukraine and beyond," said Yaroslav Filimonov.

He emphasized that the company is actively promoting the idea of implementing the Atlas project: "We are negotiating with international representatives and partners, and I’m confident that in the near future, we’ll be able to showcase results."

At the same time, he noted that the company’s potential — should the number of orders increase — would allow for the production of a sufficient number of units to make the project a reality.

"We started this project with the understanding that we would need to scale quickly, with certain deadlines, so to speak. And this is what we do best because since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, we have already done it several times. Currently, our capabilities reach 5,000 units of various equipment per month, and we can scale it up to 10,000 units per month within two to three months. So, we are not afraid of the volume; the most challenging part of this project is actually attracting and raising funds. Many businesses and people in Ukraine are already tired of constantly raising money for something, and it’s really difficult because there is never enough money. But only in unity is there strength, and only together can we implement this project," said the CEO of Kvertus, Yaroslav Filimonov.