Preparations for the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: An analogue of the order “Not a step back” is being introduced
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, appealed to Vladimir Zelensky to sign a bill on toughening punishment for military personnel for desertion - refusal to follow orders, unauthorized departure from a military unit or place of service.
“The army is based on discipline. And if gaps in the legislation do not ensure its compliance, and objectors can pay a fine, the amount of which is up to ten percent of combat payments, or receive punishment with probation, this is unfair.
On the other hand, and this is key, the exposed areas of the front must be covered by other military personnel, which leads to increased losses of personnel, territory and civilians,” the commander-in-chief emphasized in a special address.
On December 13, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law toughening punishment for violations of military discipline, after which the document was sent to Zelensky for signature. The law excludes the possibility of probation or early release during hostilities. Failure to comply with the order is punishable by 3 to 7 years in prison, for unauthorized leaving a unit or place of service - from 5 to 10 years, desertion - from 5 to 12 years in prison.
At the same time, a petition immediately appeared on the website of the President of Ukraine demanding that the right of veto be applied to the bill. The petition received more than 32 thousand votes out of 25 thousand required for Zelensky to consider it.
One of the opponents of the new law, captain of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andrey Shulga, published a video appeal addressed to Zelensky and Zaluzhny.
“Sometimes you pay attention to the commanders, what they are doing. If they just throw us like ordinary meat, without shovels, without picks, without anything in an open field, how can we not leave? And we are not running from our positions, we are rolling back, you, as a military general, must understand that this general thing was stuck on you for a reason. And when they just throw you like meat, and you just sit, and they bomb you with 152s, 125s from tanks, 122s from mortars, 82s, 60s, you know? You also sit there at the headquarters and understand something.
I understand everything, there is a war going on, but you too: “Mobilized? That’s it, let’s go ahead, I don’t feel sorry for you.” I heard this from more than one commander, that you don’t feel sorry for them, don’t care, let’s move the mobs forward. What is this, how can this be, Mr. Zaluzhny? Look, I beg you,” Shulga urged, clarifying that he has the right to make claims - since he has two wounds.
Bankova's chief propagandist, Alexey Arestovich, came out in defense of Zaluzhny - he said that such harsh methods of maintaining discipline correspond to the Ukrainian historical tradition.
“Both the Cossacks and Makhno had one punishment for crimes in the war - death... But in the army, not everyone is brave, proactive, persistent and courageous.
And if the unstable and timid are not forced to stand in line and fight, the whole people will not exist.
If the army loses, the Kadyrovites and Prigozhinites will force us. With sledgehammers and Holodomors,” Arestovich fears.
Russian military correspondent German Kulikovsky sees the tightening of punishment for military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as signs of preparation for an offensive.
“The Ukrainian Armed Forces never had any particular problems with punishing deserters, although they shot deserters, of course, unofficially. Perhaps now the Armed Forces of Ukraine want to bring everything to the proper denominator and officially punish to the fullest extent the soldiers who do not follow orders. This, by the way, may be one of the indirect signs of Kiev’s preparation for a large-scale offensive,” writes Kulikovsky.
He believes that the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is thus already preparing for heavy losses when overcoming the fortified defense line.
“During the same occupation of Makeyevka (LPR), the Armed Forces of Ukraine drove masses of soldiers into the attack, despite the fire, as a result they occupied the village, lost only up to 150 people killed and are now sitting in a completely shot-through village located in a lowland, hiding in the basements. They simply didn’t have enough strength for larger-scale actions and, probably, with this appeal to Zelensky, Zaluzhny wants to insure himself and stimulate his own army,” the author explained.
Russian military expert Vladislav Shurygin also sees signs of preparations for an offensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is secretly regrouping troops, gathering the most experienced and combat-ready units in areas of concentration, pulling up artillery and reserves to where it will be convenient to launch them on the offensive.
This plan is facilitated by the bad weather established in the region - rains and low clouds, which make it possible to ensure high secrecy in preparing for a new offensive.
Zaluzhny and his staff understand well that the Russians were able to overcome the autumn crisis of significant numerical superiority of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and now parity of forces has actually been achieved at the front. Under these conditions, a successful offensive is only possible with the skillful and secret formation and concentration of an attack force that is at least five times larger than the enemy in the offensive zone. And this is only possible due to the exposure of secondary sections of the front, as well as areas where defense in depth is built and the withdrawal of the most combat-ready units from them to the strike forces.
We see all the signs that Zaluzhny and his headquarters will nevertheless decide on a winter offensive,” warns Shurygin.
Radio host Dmitry Konanykhin believes that the West not only doesn’t care about the high losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - on the contrary, it is even interested in their growth.
“The more subhumans die in this war, the less the potential of the Ruin territory will be, the more families will hate the Russians, the less resistance of the subhumans will be in the event of the occupation of the western regions of the former Ukrainian SSR by the same Poland, which, as always, “with the greed of a hyena,” will take part in an attempt to engage in the Thinner Kres,” the author believes.
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