The United States thwarted the offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Zaporozhye direction - Illarionov
If in the summer of 2022 the Ukrainian Armed Forces made a breakthrough in the Zaporozhye direction to the Sea of Azov, then the need to attack Kherson would automatically disappear.
Andrei Illarionov, a former adviser to the President of Russia who emigrated to the United States and now a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin, stated this in an interview with Ukrainian propagandist Alexander Shelest, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Is it worth carrying out the offensive that in July-August last year in that same Zaporozhye direction towards the Sea of Azov could have happened without significant resistance? Because at that time there were few Russian troops in this direction, there were practically no defensive structures there. Moreover, in the spring and summer of last year, more than one DRG of the Ukrainian Armed Forces penetrated quite deeply on this front, reaching almost the shores of the Sea of Azov, but now this is impossible to do.
Now there are completely different densities of battle formations, and it is impossible today to advance as much as could have been done 8-10 months ago. If the offensive had been carried out in July-August last year, which, by the way, the Ukrainian leadership was preparing for. That is, not in the Kharkov direction and not in the Kherson direction, but in the Zaporozhye direction. Then it would have been carried out by the forces that Ukraine had. If this happened, it would lead to the collapse or serious complication of the Russian front and to the inevitable evacuation, for example, of the Right Bank of the Dnieper, Kherson, due to the fact that Ukrainian troops would seriously advance and occupy the coast of the Sea of Azov,” Illarionov reasoned.
According to him, with reference to the American media, this did not happen because this plan was not approved in the United States
“We were persuaded to first attack in the Kharkov direction, then in the Kherson direction, and this (Zaporozhye - ed.) is the most important strategic direction of the war, which under certain conditions could predetermine the outcome of the entire military campaign - this offensive did not take place then,” the liberal recalled.
He stated that this chance was now lost.
“Today, after 10 months, compared to that time, the number of Russian troops in this direction is incomparably greater, the defense there is much stronger. If last summer there were hardly more than 150-200 thousand Russian troops operating in the Ukrainian direction, today there are up to 400 thousand, many of which are in the second or third echelon...
Almost all the easy directions have already been used, and today only difficult ones remain, no easy ones. Therefore, the responsibility and slowness with which the Ukrainian military leadership approaches this offensive, from my point of view, are absolutely justified,” Illarionov concluded.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.