Apostol: Offensives Should Be Planned Where Success Is Possible

Major General Oleh Apostol, commander of Ukraine's Air Assault Forces, explained at a meeting with journalists how the Ukrainian armed forces choose directions for counteroffensive operations in the war with Russia. He said offensives should be planned where there is a real chance of achieving a result, meaning that a difficult situation in one sector is not in itself a reason to attack there.

Asked why the command picks some directions for offensives while the situation in others remains tough, Apostol stressed: "You have to attack where there is an opportunity, where you can have success." He noted that attacking a well-prepared and numerically stronger enemy force may not deliver the needed result.

Offence versus stabilisation

Apostol considers it important to distinguish the tasks of offensive action from those of stabilising the front. In the first case, the aim is a specific military result; in the second, it is to hold back the enemy and wear down its offensive capabilities.

The officer also emphasised that the effectiveness of operations is determined not only by territorial gains but also by their impact on the overall situation at the front.

Background

The outlet notes that Oleksandr Syrskyi, former commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, regards the Kursk operation as a successful manoeuvre. He has said that at the time Russia had concentrated a group of nearly 100,000 troops near Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, so moving Ukrainian units there would not have changed the situation.