Military expert: Ukraine's offensive in Zaporizhzhia region exposes flaws in Russian command
NBS Major Jānis Slaidiņš says Ukraine's recent offensive on the southern front shows both growing combat experience and serious problems in Russian military command, though Russian resistance was fierce and costly for Ukraine.
An offensive operation by Ukraine's armed forces in the southern sector of the Zaporizhzhia region has shown that the Ukrainian army has accumulated significant experience in conducting offensives under modern warfare conditions, according to Major Jānis Slaidiņš of Latvia's National Armed Forces, a staff officer of the National Guard, speaking on TV24.
He said drones, reconnaissance, artillery and electronic warfare now play a decisive role on the battlefield. The operation involved some of Ukraine's best units, including air assault brigades, and was carefully planned as a coordinated whole, from intelligence gathering to fire support.
Flaws in Russian command
Slaidiņš said Ukrainian troops reportedly found Russian maps showing defensive lines drawn tens of kilometers beyond the positions Russia actually controlled. In his view, this indicates Russia's command structure had lost an accurate picture of the battlefield, which also hampered supply and troop movement.
Maneuver rather than frontal assault
Because Russia had built heavily fortified positions, including concrete bunkers difficult to destroy even with artillery or strike drones, Ukrainian units often bypassed them, cutting supply routes and isolating garrisons rather than attacking head-on.
Still, Slaidiņš cautioned against underestimating Russian soldiers' resistance — some fortified garrisons held out to the last, and Ukraine's gains came at a heavy cost in casualties.
Both sides adapting
The major noted that Russia has also adopted Ukrainian tactics, such as small groups infiltrating through gaps in defensive lines — a method that earlier helped Russia advance in the Pokrovsk direction. According to Slaidiņš, in modern warfare both sides learn from and adapt to each other's methods very quickly.
