If Ukraine continues to fight according to Soviet doctrine, it will lose war - Colonel Grant

This opinion was expressed by retired British Army colonel and renowned military expert Glen Grant in an interview with Espreso TV channel.

‘The job of the Chief of the General Staff is not to fight. If he is at war, he cannot do anything else. That is, there are two separate types of responsibilities that occur simultaneously: one is to fight, and the other is to manage defense. And right now, defense management is not being properly performed. The problem is not how we fight — we know how to fight.

Some Ukrainian brigades have demonstrated world-class professionalism, and given the resources available to them, no one could have done a better job. They are simply aces in battle. But when no one properly manages defense, when no one makes the system work, then the troops at the front do not receive sufficient support because the system does not function properly,’ he said.

According to him, the defense system has the most gaps, and someone has to take care of them. The Chief of Staff should work to ensure the proper functioning of the system, not act as a commander.

‘The chief of staff should focus on tasks such as amending laws, regularly informing the government and the president and ensuring that the rules and regulations are correct for everything. This is not happening now. We are still fighting with Soviet doctrine, Soviet rules and regulations, Soviet practice and the Soviet personnel system. If we do not change all this, we will lose the war.

Someone has to become a true Commander-in-Chief and reform the system, while the warfare should be entrusted to someone else. Yes, it is difficult and tough, but it is real. We are well aware of the reality, because people are writing n social media about the problems that need to be solved everywhere and every day. If this is not done, the morale of the army will soon be lost. After all, morale is the most important thing we have in Ukraine. Without high morale, there will be no victory,’ said the colonel.

The task of the Commander-in-Chief is to make the system work, provide proper support for the war effort and make sure that everything in the system is functioning smoothly, Grant said.

‘He cannot delegate these responsibilities to others. He can't delegate training, recruitment or any of these critical tasks. His role is to make the system work, but he's not in the right place right now. Syrskyi is at war, and no one else is involved in reorganizing, improving the system, making structures more efficient. He is trying to do everything himself, and as a result, the system is not working — and we can see it. Territorial Centers for Recruitment and Social Support are working, but not in the right way. They are not managed or controlled by anyone, they just continue to exist, killing morale and doing things that are unnecessary for the country.

The Commander-in-Chief needs to either step aside and let his officers fight the war properly, choosing the right commanders for the job, or resign and become a combat commander, allowing someone else to run the General Staff and the entire defense system. He cannot do both. There are only 24 hours in a day.

If Syrskyi is torn between the Pokrovsk and Kursk directions, it cannot go on, because it is absurd. You need two competent commanders: one focused on Kursk and determined to move forward, and the other focused on Pokrovsk and determined to hold positions in the eastern Ukraine. At the moment, this is not the case. These commanders are not there because the Commander-in-Chief is trying to do everything himself, and it's not working,’ he concluded. 

• On September 6, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi held a meeting with the commanders of unmanned aerial vehicle units in a closed video conference format, where they summed up the results of joint work over the past month