Russia prioritizes offensive over preserving reserves in push against Ukraine

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"Unfortunately, the question is who will run out first - the Russians or Ukrainians. I have a clear sense of when the Russians will run out. They can sustain a war of this intensity and scale for at most a year, and likely even less. But look at what they're doing now and the losses they're suffering," said Dykyi.

According to the former platoon commander of the Aidar battalion, Russia is facing its highest losses since spring 2022. At that time, they were not preparing for war but for a "special operation" and a victory parade. They were forced into real combat starting in May 2022, facing a serious adversary, and have not experienced such losses since. This fall has been their most devastating, with losses now even greater than during the assaults on Bakhmut and Avdiivka, and continuing to rise weekly.

"The question arises: why is this happening? Do they have an endless supply of people and other reserves? It turns out, quite the opposite. We see that they are better stocked with 'cannon fodder' than with equipment. But even that resource seems to be running out, as they’ve started ordering cannon fodder from North Korea - not out of prosperity. The only logical explanation is that they understand they have resources for a maximum of one more year at this intensity. That’s why they’ve decided there’s no point in conserving reserves and are throwing everything into one last decisive battle, trying to overwhelm us now," Dykyi noted.

The former platoon commander of the Aidar battalion also noted that Russia's current strategy is risky, as if Ukraine can hold out, next year will be extremely tough for them.

"But unfortunately, this strategy might work. Returning to the question I started with: who will run out first? It turns out they have resources for another year of this war, while we have only six months - unless radical changes occur in our rear, especially regarding mobilization," Dykyi emphasized.

• On November 28, 207 combat clashes were recorded on the Russian-Ukrainian front. In the Pokrovsk sector, Ukrainian forces repelled 61 Russian attacks.
• Andriy Halka, chief sergeant of the anti-aircraft missile battery of the Rubizh Brigade, NGU, stated that an analysis of captured Russian servicemen's training reveals they do not come from elite units.