Ukrainian army reinforces counteroffensive directions, new SAMs for frontline: weekly military summary

Objects in Moscow targeted by drones are legitimate targets

Strikes on Moscow have more of a political and information-psychological component. Strikes on the capital resonate very strongly in Russian society. They confirm that Russia is involved in a war and the government is unable to ensure the safety of its citizens. Ukrainians are demonstrating that new technological developments will find the enemy where we consider it necessary to destroy him. This element, which is being realized by constant attacks on Moscow, is extremely important and must be continued.  So are strikes by naval drones on Russian military facilities. The facilities in Moscow, if they are not military, are related to Russia's governing bodies, and these are legitimate targets.

Ukraine's counteroffensive in the south: the army plans to force Russian troops to leave the frontline areas

When we talk about the assessment of the Ukrainian counteroffensive by foreign media, we need to be less and less guided by the statements of certain publications. Yesterday, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that he would not comment on the WP publication that, according to intelligence estimates, the Ukrainian army will not reach Melitopol by the end of the year and thus will not fulfill the main task of the counteroffensive. I am not sure that the Washington Post knows the purpose and goal of this counteroffensive. Secondly, Sullivan said the right thing, that war is unpredictable and he cannot estimate how events will take place on the front line. He added that the Ukrainian army has always done things that were difficult to predict from a positive point of view.

The main actions are taking place in the south. We know that Urozhayne was liberated this week. And in the other direction, Melitopol, there are fighting near Robotyne. This area is becoming more important and interesting. Fighting is taking place in the northern part of Robotyne.  The Ukrainian Armed Forces have taken certain dominant heights between Robotyne and Verbove. They are now attacking the Russian troops defending Robotyne. Ukrainian artillery is now controlling the only road that supplies the Russian group there from the south. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are pressing in some areas - between Robotyne and Verbove and a little east of Robotyne- Kopani. Certain new brigades have already been deployed to this section of the front. We are strengthening this area. President Zelenskyy also visited the area and met with brigade and battalion commanders. This is a sign that the Ukrainian forces are planning actions to force the Russian enemy to leave the frontline areas that they still hold.

The liberation of Staromayorske, then Urozhayne, and then we all talk about Staromlynivka. So far, there is a small settlement in front of it called Zavitne Bazhannya (dearest wish - edit.) - a strange, beautiful name.  The Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted several attacks from the east, and it turned out that the terrain there is difficult, swampy. It is difficult to advance there, it is mined. Most likely, further offensives will follow the direct option - an attack from the north on Zavitne Bazhannya and then on Staromlynivka. Behind it, the main line of defense begins at a distance of 6-8 km. And in this section of the front, Russia is now forced to use its reserves, and its destruction is in line with the overall concept.  We have two directions - Melitopol and Berdyansk. We also have two or three areas in reserve - fighting in the Vasylivka area, the direction from Huliaipole and potential intensification of actions from Vuhledar. If there are 5 such directions, the Russian forces are unlikely to be able to respond in all areas with its limited forces.

Russian offensive on Kupyansk: artillery helps to restrain the occupying Russian forces

The Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna area has recently become more active. The commander of the Land Forces, Syrskyi, visited the area, and actions were planned to counteract the invading Russian forces, who are now aimed at breaking through Ukrainian defense. Now the Russians say that Kupyansk is only 8 kilometers away, but these kilometers are unchanged after the Ukrainian Armed Forces operation in the Kharkiv region and the de-occupation of the city. Russia has indeed moved a significant number of forces. The first attempts that began two weeks ago did not lead to significant changes. The terrain there is so difficult for heavy equipment to pass through that the presence of Ukraine's artillery in sufficient numbers allows us to deter the Russian forces. I hope that this will continue, although the Russians continue to try to divert Ukrainian reserves along the entire front line (Kupyansk, Novoselivske, Karmazynivka, Bilohorivka). The potential of Ukrainian reserves and approaches to the optimal use of forces and means will allow us to compensate for Russia's actions despite the superiority of Russian manpower and equipment in this area.

Formation of new brigades, deadlines for receiving F-16s, new air defense systems from Germany

We have two separate corps - the ninth and tenth. Each has a certain number of newly formed brigades - five-six. Each can have different numbers, and now we have powerful brigades in this aspect. We are partially using some battalions of these new brigades to help them gain combat experience. This is one scheme, but there are areas where new brigades are also deployed. For example, the 82nd Brigade in Robotyne. It is fully operational and the first newly formed brigade, the 47th, started there as well. It was on the basis of its actions that new approaches to offensive actions were formed.

According to my optimistic estimates, the first aircraft with trained pilots should have appeared in the first quarter of next year. Now, foreign publications say that because of the language issue, pilots have three months to improve their English and another six months to master the language on a technical level.  In fact, 10 months will be spent on language training, which will start next February. Then, whenever the aircraft are delivered, we will still receive them only at the end of 2024. I hope that this dynamic will somehow be changed and options will be found so that we get the aircraft and trained pilots at least in the middle of next year.

The IRIS-T SLS short-range air defense system is a tracked-trailer system. It has four launchers and its own radar station. This machine can move over any difficult terrain, and there have even been reports that it can float. Two samples are being transferred, each of them can destroy enemy targets within a radius of 10 km. The Germans promise to send 20 more of these models. They will be used to strengthen the front line of contact with the enemy to cover Ukrainian brigades. These weapons can be integrated into offensive units on the ground - these are short-range systems. Earlier, we received the IRIS-T medium-range system (up to 100 km) to cover Ukraine's important locations, including Kyiv and possibly Odesa.