Berlin One year after the start of the Russian war of aggression, the defense of the Ukrainians is in a difficult phase, according to German Brigadier General Christian Freuding. The head of the special staff for Ukraine in the German Ministry of Defense referred to a recognizable ability of the Russian military leadership to learn.
“We also know that the Ukrainians are no longer able to freshen up their units with only volunteers, but that they are now deliberately recruiting reservists of various ranks. This indicates that they are currently under pressure,” said Freuding of the German Press Agency.
The general practically coordinates German military aid. The 51-year-old was previously the commander of Panzer Lehrbrigade 9 in Munster.
Freuding referred to the bitter fighting for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which symbolizes a history that goes back far beyond the current war. In December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented a flag from the frontline city to the US Congress.
“Looked at in this way, what we are seeing now is certainly more than the tactical battle for the town of Bakhmut and the surrounding area. But the city also has a purely tactical importance. If you look at the road connections, you can see that the loss of Bakhmut and the county road further west would mean that supplying the Ukrainian troops would be much more difficult,” says Freuding. “Ukrainian troops would have to give up terrain at a depth of up to 30 kilometers.”
The region is highly competitive.
(Photo: AP)
The planned reinforcements with western main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers will enable the Ukrainians to create local superiority, said Freuding. “You will then be able to achieve success both in defense and in attack.” On the other hand, a broad advance is difficult. He pointed out that the front line was 1,200 kilometers long.
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However, the Ukrainians have proven that they can be very skilful tactically. “And they have to try that with the new device. I think it is our job, the job of all partners and nations, to enable them to some extent for what we call combined arms combat: the interaction of all branches of arms at the conglomerate, brigade level.”
From the point of view of the general, the areas conquered by Russia, which form a land bridge to the annexed peninsula of Crimea, are of particular importance. “If you start from the levels of operational management – tactical, operational, strategic – then I would call the land bridge to Crimea an operational objective. It is certainly one that is at the center of Ukrainians’ reflections, because it allows them to underscore their political-strategic goal, which is to regain territorial integrity,” said Freuding.
“At the same time, by cutting the land bridge, they would also mean that the Russian troops would probably not be able to hold the whole part of the land bridge west of Zaporizhia to Crimea for long,” he said.
General: Russian attacks very uncoordinated at the beginning
The general also drew attention to changes in the approach of the Russian military leadership. In the beginning, Russia relied on battalion tactical groups that were very much designed to bring together the different branches of the service at the lower level. “They can’t do that, there’s a lack of training, there’s a lack of skills, there’s a lack of means of communication,” he said. That is why the Russian attackers reverted to the Soviet military doctrine with a regiment structure.
“You could see at the beginning that the attacks that were being carried out were carried out in a way that was far too uncoordinated. That was compensated for by mass and mass recruitment, by using mercenary troops,” he says. “We are beginning to see an ability to learn to move key logistics points, key command posts and command facilities out of enemy fire range. However, this stretches the supply lines and also makes them more vulnerable. But you see, wherever the Russians don’t do that, they are hit hard by the Ukrainians.”
It is also clear that the Western military listens very carefully to Russian statements. “If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the past year, it’s that Russian rhetoric is to be taken very seriously, nothing to be taken lightly,” Freuding said.
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From a purely military point of view, he currently sees no indicators that a large-scale attack, for example from Belarus, is to be expected. However, the danger ties Ukrainian troops there. He also sees no Russian forces that would be able to surprisingly create a land bridge to Transnistria. Russian soldiers have been stationed in the breakaway region from Moldova since the 1990s.
Freuding said he could see the clear Russian goal of conquering the Donbass in its entirety. “Politically, that’s not all for Russia. As long as Russia’s imperial claim exists, we must be prepared for attempts to enforce this imperial claim, including by force. That, for me, is – very briefly – the great lesson of February 24.”
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