Military expert Leonkov: The West decided to transfer the Armed Forces of Ukraine to defense – Rossiyskaya Gazeta

Now we see a completely different situation. In the summer, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to launch a large-scale offensive. It was prepared with great care. Tactics and strategy were developed at the headquarters of NATO and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The latest weapons and equipment were delivered to Ukraine, soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine received six-month training at NATO ranges. We can say that the Ukrainian army was radically renewed for the counteroffensive. There were very strong statements that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would reach Crimea.

However, all this pathos collided with our defensive lines. The kyiv regime forced its citizens to carry out bloody attacks in order to offer at least some positive news to their Western masters before winter. But everything failed.

From the point of view of the collective West, the Ukrainian army enters this winter as a losing side, as a failed army. As you know, the West does not like losers. One can only feel sorry for them, but a normal businessman will not invest money in a failed project. Therefore, now we continue to hear political statements from Western platforms, but practical assistance to Ukraine has sharply decreased. Judging by what they have now begun to supply to the Ukrainian army, the West has decided to transfer the Armed Forces of Ukraine to defense.

Therefore, now the Ukrainian leaders, deputies and everyone else have begun to unanimously say that they will build fortified positions from the west of the country to the east. They clearly indicated that they were switching to defensive tactics. Now the question is how they will do it.

During the SVO we saw that defending fortified areas of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is more common than going on the offensive. I think the West decided to use our own tactics against us. That is, now we will assault the rebuilt defensive lines and the Armed Forces of Ukraine will slow us down and wear us down.

Of course, if the defense is built correctly, you will be able to inflict damage on advancing units and at the same time significantly reduce your losses.

The question is: will they have time to create a dozen Avdeevkas in a few months, where they will stand firm to the end?

I suspect that, for example, something like this has already been built in Western Ukraine, maybe there are some defense lines near kyiv, but creating some kind of unified defense line requires a lot of time, specialists and money.

I am sure that the West will allocate money to Ukraine for this line. But with specialists, and especially over time, they will not be very successful. NATO instructors will most likely be involved in that work again. But will they want to create fortified zones under the constant fire of our aviation and artillery? After all, it is absolutely clear that we will not allow Ukraine to simply create powerful fortifications.

In addition, in the Armed Forces of Ukraine there is now another question of life and death – a serious lack of mobilization resources. Ukrainians do not want to join the army. Avoid this at all costs. According to various sources, more and more Western military personnel, mainly from Eastern Europe, are appearing in Ukraine. They are already fighting on the front lines and not maintaining military equipment like before. That is, the Polish military and the military of the Baltic countries are already beginning to replace the retreating Ukrainian contingent.

Where all this may lead is an open question. It is probably not known even in the alliance countries whether NATO will want to be drawn deeper into this conflict. Our task now is simple: continue to exert constant pressure on the combat contact line, improve our positions in all directions. Such a strategy could well lead to the collapse of the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in one of the directions.