- A military spokesman said Ukraine’s winter goal is to disrupt Russia’s logistics.
- The goal is to leave Russian forces “hungry, cold and lacking the will to fight.”
- He said Russia “should expect surprises from heaven.”
The main goal of the Ukrainian army during the winter months will be to disrupt Russia’s military logistics to such an extent that its soldiers will lose the will to fight.
Volodymyr Fitio, spokesman for the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command, said on television that the goal is to position Russian forces in Ukraine as much as possible, – the Kijów Post reported.
He said Ukraine’s “main task” during the winter would be to disrupt Russian logistics “so that it is hungry, cold and does not feel like fighting.”
As a result, Fitio said that “the enemy should expect surprises from heaven.” “Our main task is to ensure that everything that is happening now helps the armed forces of Ukraine and, conversely, harms the Russian occupiers.”
Earlier this month, Fitio said Ukraine’s winter goal was to cut off Russian military supply chains to “freeze them.”
Cooler weather tends to slow down conflicts. Neither side saw any major breakthroughs last winter as Ukraine fought a Russian invasion.
However, Fitio’s comments indicate that Ukraine still plans to use this period to its advantage, even though snow, mud and ice slow down elements of the fighting such as troop movements.
Russia was able to to use last winter to lay a network of fortifications and minefields. This made Ukraine the world’s most heavily mined country and stopped Ukraine’s counteroffensive launched in June to regain more territory.
Last winter, Russia also used missiles and drones to launch missiles and drones at Ukraine’s powers infrastructure. As a result of this action, civilians died and heating stations were established in Ukraine where people could warm themselves.
Ukraine warned that it expected Russia to do the same again, as did its allies.
Dr Jack Watling, an expert on warfare at the Royal United Services Institute, he said Winter gives Ukraine “a chance to maximize Russian losses.” He noted that Russian losses last winter “were extremely high, even when Russia had fire superiority.”
Watling said Russian troops could get stuck “outside, wet and cold” and targeted Ukriane attacks could worsen Russian logistics.
But there is also a risk that something will go wrong for Ukraine in the winter, he added: “If Ukraine does not continue to put pressure on the Russian line in the winter, there is a risk that these lines of defense will be expanded.”
