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The Russian occupiers miscalculated their tactical offensives, the Ukrainian Defense Forces are holding their ground. Mykola Malomuzh, General of the Ukrainian Army, Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (2005-2010), stated this on the FREEDOM TV channel.
“First of all, the strategy was this: to disorient our forces and means, especially in the east and south, by launching a tactical strike with the transition to a strategic strike in the Kharkiv and Sumy directions. Up to 50-70 thousand military personnel of the Russian Armed Forces, several thousand tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, artillery missile systems, respectively, were trained for these sectors, respectively, with the support of aviation, especially KABs, in order to have an effective demonstration of success, conquer bridgeheads and continue to try to reach a new strategic line on the territory of Ukraine,” he said.
Malomuzh noted that in this situation the Russians were in a hurry, taking advantage of a certain delay in providing assistance to Ukraine from the allies. He emphasized that the strategic task of the Russian army was completely failed.
“Yes, they partially entered the Kharkiv direction with the wrong forces and means. We did not hold the first line of defense and retreated in a number of directions. But the second and third lines turned out to be powerful. We are standing in the Volchansk area, we are standing near Liptsiv, Staritsa… The second and third lines have already been prepared more powerfully and reserves have been brought up. The commander was replaced, an effective combat general who effectively organized the work. Well, accordingly, having scattered his forces and not having achieved this success in the Kharkiv direction, the enemy was unable to develop an offensive operation here, much less launch an attack on Sumy. But we have not withdrawn our main positions in the east and are holding our positions. It’s hard, of course, because some people still went north, to the Kharkiv region,” the general said.
He noted that the Ukrainian Defense Forces are repelling attacks by Russians in the Donetsk region.
“Yes, it’s difficult, there are heavy battles, maneuvering somewhere, but we are holding our positions, and most importantly, we are destroying large contingents – from 1,200 to 2,700 people a day. In a week this is approximately 10-12 thousand. These are huge enemy losses. We believe that in the future there will be a more significant erosion of the defense capability of the Russian troops,” Malomuzh said.
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