This is the reason - Russian media: The author of the Ukrainian army's ineffective counterattack | The three main reasons for the Ukrainian army's ineffective counterattack | The Ukrainian army
On June 19th, the website of the Russian Communist Youth League Truth Daily published an article titled "Three Reasons for the Weak Counterattack of the Ukrainian Army" by Alexander Gamov and Yelena Afonina. The article excerpt is as follows:
Some Western media have recently published articles acknowledging that Russia has an advantage in the face of Ukrainian troops armed to teeth with Western equipment. What did Ukraine's counterattack encounter? The radio station of the Communist Youth League Truth Daily interviewed military expert and Izbelsk Club member Vladislav Shurekin on this matter.
A reporter from the Truth Daily of the Communist Youth League asked: When the enemy suddenly begins to praise you, you must be very careful. In this situation, is this a statement of facts or is there another intention?
Shuleijin's answer: First of all, this is an attempt to explain a situation that is no longer concealed.
If you read carefully, you will find that Western media reports do not say that Western equipment is not good. They mainly attribute the problem to Ukraine's lack of everything and the fact that Ukrainians have not received enough training to use complex equipment.
However, it is no longer possible to conceal the fact that these equipment are burning and Russia is achieving military success. In this case, they pointed out the fact that everyone fully understood. There are no "magical weapons" in the world.
The Ukrainian army opened fire on targets near Bahmut.
Three major factors hindering the Ukrainian army
Shurekin said: The current obstruction of Ukraine's attack is caused by multiple factors. It did indeed acquire a large number of weapons, but ultimately achieved nothing.
Firstly, the state of the Russian military is not as good as before, and the Ukrainian army has encountered carefully prepared defenses.
The second reason is insufficient training for the Ukrainian army. Recruiting is uninterrupted, including direct street conscription. Since January, nearly 200000 people have been recruited. But it is impossible to turn these people into experienced warriors within 3 to 4 months.
Thirdly, there is a very serious commander issue in the Ukrainian army. Ukraine has lost more than half of its military officers within a year, and the proportion of losses for grassroots platoon, company, and battalion level officers is close to 70%. Now this is beginning to have a tragic impact on them. Ukrainian soldiers receive accelerated training in the West and are trained to become officers within 2 to 3 months. However, facing the extremely complex modern "chess game" on the battlefield, they are unable to deploy troops.
What we are seeing now is a very fierce, desperate, cruel and tenacious attack by the Ukrainian army. They lack organization and commanders lack the skills to command troops on the battlefield. Therefore, they suffered huge losses.
In the three weeks of attack, the Ukrainian army even failed to break through our first line of defense. This is to some extent fatal.
A reporter from the Truth Daily of the Communist Youth League asked: You said that the Ukrainian army lacks training. If the production years and systems of Western equipment are different, how can they be trained?
Shu Leijin's answer: We need to make a slight distinction here. Different years are not scary. For example, Ukraine has been perfectly equipped with old Soviet equipment for nearly a year of combat. It did not function as a single tank produced by an independent country. The tanks left over from the 1970s to 1980s were used quite well.
I repeat, the subject of combat is not equipment, but people.
Another point you're right about is that Ukraine's equipment mix is extremely difficult to maintain. A batch of tanks requires a batch of parts, while another type of tank requires other parts. The most important thing is that you cannot directly repair a damaged tank on the battlefield or in the rear, but drag it to Poland or Romania for repair.
This is the result faced by the so-called "colonial army". That is to say, Ukraine itself does not produce anything, has no ammunition, no bulletproof vests, no tanks, no air defense systems, and everything is obtained from the West. Therefore, in this situation, equipment maintenance is certainly a huge issue. In addition, it is necessary to find people who can fight under such conditions.
A video screenshot released by the Russian Ministry of Defense on the 10th shows that multiple Ukrainian tanks were destroyed in the southern Donetsk region.
Russian Army Changes Battlefield Tactics
According to a report on the website of The New York Times on June 17th, as Ukraine began its long-awaited counterattack, it was well-equipped, communication technology improved, and supported by weapons from the United States and Europe. However, the Russian military strengthened defense, artillery coordination, and air support, making this battle look very different from early battles. Western officials say that these improvements are likely to make Russia a stronger opponent, especially when it comes to defending and leveraging its advantages on the battlefield.
According to reports, the Kremlin is increasingly relying on suicide drones or airdropped glider bombs, reflecting a shift in strategic innovation by the Russian military.
Ukrainian drone commander Grav said, "They will try their best to find the rear command post of the company and brigade, destroy them from a long distance, and disrupt communication between the units."
The Russian Air Force has also adjusted its tactics to attack the Ukrainian army without allowing its own aircraft to take risks.
The report points out that US officials acknowledge that Russia's tactics have improved. However, these officials, based on battlefield intelligence reports, believe that the victory of the Battle of Bachmut was mainly due to the Wagner Group disregarding the cost of life and allowing prisoners to enter the battle. However, soldiers who have personally experienced combat see different situations.
According to reports, soldiers fighting for Ukraine in Bakhmut described that the recent situation is very different from the beginning. Prisoners are not as common as before. On the contrary, the professional soldiers of the Wagner Group coordinated ground and artillery attacks on Ukrainian positions, and then quickly deployed small-scale teams for encirclement.
The report states that changes in Russian tactics can be seen from drone reconnaissance and the depths of Ukrainian trenches. The Ukrainian soldier codenamed "Carnivorous Animals" said, "They have changed their tactics in the past six months." For four consecutive days, Russian shelling destroyed the vegetation above, exposing the positions of the Ukrainian army. Then, their armored personnel carriers launched an attack under the cover of soldiers.
