Russia makes no significant battlefield gains – Ukraine’s CinC Syrskyi

That’s according to the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, who spoke in an interview with The Guardian, Ukrinform reports.

In his first interview with a foreign media outlet in the capacity of commander-in-chief, Syrskyi described Russia's creeping gains as "tactical", local achievements, not an "operational" breakthrough, as the capture of a large city would be seen.

“In principle, the enemy has not made any significant progress,” he said.

He added that the front line was 3,700km long, while active hostilities were taking place across 977km of it, which is "twice the length of the border between Germany and France".

Syrskyi admitted that the Russians are much better resourced as they have more tanks, IFVs, and manpower. According to the CinC, the size of the Russian army has increased to 520,000 personnel from 100,000 at the outset of the invasion. By the end of 2024, the the invasion force might amount to 690,000.

He said that since 2022, the number of Russian tanks has doubled, from 1,700 to 3,500. Also, the number of Russian artillery systems more than tripled, and that of armored personnel carriers has increased from 4,500 to 8,900.

“When it comes to equipment, there is a ratio of 1:2 or 1:3 in their favor,” Syrskyi said. “The enemy has a significant advantage in force and resources. Therefore, for us, the issue of supply, the issue of quality, is really at the forefront.”

At the same time, Syrskyi believes it is possible to stop Russia's advance on the front line. According to the top commander, this depends, first of all, on the courageous soldiers and officers of the Ukrainian Army. Quite often, "resilient and heroic" Ukrainian units defeated bigger enemy groups, the commander-in-chief added.

When asked about Moscow's plans to launch another offensive in the south of Zaporizhzhia region, Sirskyi replied that, if this happens, "we can give them a good response".

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on July 27, the spokesman for the Tavria Operational Grouping of Troops, Dmytro Lykhovii, said Russian troops are replenishing their units in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region.

Photo: Alessio Mamo/The Guardian