'Open door day at Russian border': Russian former officer lashes out heavily at inept army leadership
Ukraine's assault on Russian territory in the Kursk border region began on 6 August. Ukrainian troops crossed the border with Russia a week ago now and immediately advanced briskly. And it went surprisingly smoothly, reveals a former Russian army officer in an interview with Russian research website 'iStories'.
President Volodymyr Zelensky reported today that the Ukrainian army has already captured more than 1,000 square kilometres and 74 towns on Russian territory. Ukraine is doing so not with the intention of annexing the area to Ukraine, but to prevent Russia from carrying out any more attacks on Ukraine from there.
Smooth passage on the border
The basis for that surprise attack on Russian territory was already created in March, according to the Russian former officer. That is when the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom-from-Russia Legion (two far-right paramilitary units with Russians fighting on Ukraine's side) began carrying out raids in the area. Their aim was to find out "how quickly there would be a response, how many Russian troops were in the area and where exactly they were". As it turned out, there was no response at all. And now, six months later, it is no different. "What has changed on our side in the past six months? Helamally nothing," it sounds. Border guards had only light firearms to defend themselves and the border appeared to be practically open.
As a result, Ukrainian troops were immediately able to penetrate deep into Russian territory. "Our army did not react late, it simply did not react at all," the former officer said. "The troops present surrendered en masse. Because conscripts don't know how to fight. And because they did not have the weapons to repel such an attack. The decisions made by the army leadership are also catastrophic. Just think of the convoy of hundreds of soldiers wiped out in a rocket attack in Rylsk. At the front, meanwhile, they know that riding in convoy is suicide. But here they still think they are going to a parade. It was even filmed for the news. Those guys died before they even reached the scene."
(SR for Tagtik/Source: i-Stories - Reuters - HLN/Illustration picture: Filip Andrejevic for Unsplash)
