Kiev has shifted to holding the line, Aleksandr Syrsky told German media
Ukraine has “transitioned” from offensive operations to strategic defense, General Aleksandr Syrsky has told the German TV channel ZDF in an interview published on Tuesday.
The interview was recorded several days before President Vladimir Zelensky appointed Syrsky commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in place of the sacked General Valery Zaluzhny.
“The war is entering a new stage,” Syrsky told ZDF. “We have transitioned from offensive actions to conducting a defensive operation,” he added, in order to “exhaust the enemy and inflict maximum losses on them, using our fortifications, our technical advantages, unmanned aerial vehicles, electronic warfare systems, and prepared defense lines.”
The Ukrainian armed forces have turned to aerial and even ground drones to preserve the lives of troops, Syrsky said.
“I’d rather leave a position, but I won’t allow the loss of personnel,” he told the German outlet. He claimed that Russia places “no value” on the lives of its troops, which is reflected by its losses being 7-8 times higher than Ukraine’s – according to Kiev’s estimates, anyway.