
‘Chief Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Zaluzhny told Zelensky that the Armed Forces of Ukraine should not expect quick progress on the battlefield’, – WP
February 2, 2024
‘Some share trenches with the dead’ – an article about front line issues was published in Spiegel
February 2, 2024The military medic Gleb Bityukov wrote a post yesterday that quickly gained traction on social media. He talks about serious problems within the command structure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In his opinion, there is rampant lack of professionalism within the Ukrainian army, as ranks are awarded not based on achievements, but rather on “years of service” and occupying positions in rear areas.
“The same person can be responsible for logistics, combat training, vehicle repairs and fuel accounting, even though they actually can’t do any of these tasks,” writes the military medic.
According to him, in the Ukrainian army, “those who reach the top are not the ones who are proactive and strive for development, but those who are knowledgeable, drink no more than others, and occasionally wash themselves.” He sees this as the reason for failures on the frontline. Bityukov claims that Ukraine has adopted Russia’s tactic of “human wave attacks” and throws valuable personnel into them.
“Our army, instead of creating a more effective strategy, copies the Russian one. Without having the same number of people, it sends anyone to the positions – from medics to drone operators – just to hold the line drawn by someone on the map. Otherwise, someone will have to report ‘upstairs’ that the positions have been surrendered. And no one wants to hear that,” writes the military medic.
This has led to a situation where “there are no more people left.”
“The best, motivated people are gone. They either died or left the army one way or another,” Bityukov believes.
According to him, “pretense and show-off” are evident in the example of Bahmut.
“Everyone who heard about the ‘Fortress Bahmut’ believed in it – except those who were there. The city was not a fortress. Nothing was done to turn it into one. No fortifications, no minefields. When the front line was 20 km away from the city in spring 2022, it was clear that with such tactics, the city wouldn’t hold,” Bityukov writes.
“The legend of Bahmut has been added to the legends of DAP, Saur-Mogila, Luhansk Airport (which was also ours at a certain point), and others. How many cauldrons has the Ukrainian army created in 10 years of war? And how many people have received officer and even general ranks?” the military medic asks.