Ukraine’s territorial losses stem from widespread state-level failures — Ukrainian General

Reserve Major General of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Serhii Kryvonos, shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

“The length of the Russian-Ukrainian front, excluding the border with Russia, is more than 1,200 kilometers. That is a significant distance. Whether it is a lot or a little, one must consider that the Russians are actively conducting offensive operations along many sections and systematically try to probe our weak spots. As a rule, their tactic is to test weak points at the junctions between military units, between operational-tactical groupings, and now between corps, where they concentrate their efforts. To retake the 550 kilometers that the Russian army occupied in June, we will need to do a lot. But I would not want capabilities to always be measured by the number of people required for this,” he said.

War is, first and foremost, about the economy. It is a state’s ability to supply the Armed Forces with the necessary amount of ammunition, cartridges, food, fuel, and weapons.

Russia has potential. Therefore, General Kryvonos noted that he is more interested in Ukraine's defensive capabilities — how many Russian troops Ukraine can destroy in case of launching offensive actions.

“And when the Russians have an advantage in the number of aerial drones in certain areas, especially drones used for fiber-optic control, and dominate the air in those sectors, it becomes quite difficult to conduct combat operations. If a battalion commander defending a certain area doesn’t have enough drones or enough trained operators to control them, if the battalion commander does not receive timely mortar shells for his 120mm mortars, and if the senior commander’s heavy artillery does not fire within his area of responsibility, it will also be very difficult to hold that territory. Therefore, the losses we have suffered in terms of territory are the result of a combination of shortcomings occurring on a state-wide scale. First and foremost, these are issues not addressed properly in the rear. Because the front does not receive the necessary quantities of shells, weapons, or enough trained and motivated personnel in a timely manner,” noted Serhii Kryvonos.

• On July 1, it was reported that last month, the Russian army had occupied 556 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory, marking the largest advance since the beginning of the year.