Ukrainian armed forces chief: We have been in worse situations

Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Oleksandr Syrskyi has said he has not lost faith in achieving victory over Russian forces, not least since Ukraine's forces have been in worse situations than the current one, in the past three years.
Russian troop losses last year were greater than in the previous two years combined, Syrskyi added.
Talking to Ukrainian media, Gen. Syrskyi highlighted Russia's staggering losses, stressed the need for offensive operations, and emphasized Ukraine's technological edge with unmanned systems to secure victory despite overwhelming challenges on the battlefield.
"We have been in much worse situations," he noted, but also stressed that being on the defensive alone is not enough to win the war.
A future Ukrainian victory will need active offensives like the one launched into Russia's Kursk oblast last summer, and continued technological advantages, including with unmanned systems.
"No matter how long you defend, in the end, you end up retreating. And we are forced to maintain our defensive lines and amass forces across the entire front line," Syrskyi said.
"What do we need to do? We need to employ everything to our advantage. To be clear, we are the first worldwide to have created unmanned systems units. In fact, we are now expanding and expanding the unmanned component and actively developing robotic platforms," Syrskyi went on.
Syrskyi also discussed the importance of using every advantage available to Ukraine on the battlefield.
The commander also spoke about his rule that before launching an offensive, it is vital to meet with the units, communicate and explain the rationale as to why certain actions are being taken.
"For example, [the attack] on Russian territory (i.e., the Kursk region – ed.). Incidentally, this also presented a certain barrier, and some asked whether it was the right and legitimate action. I replied: 'Was their attack on us legal?' This is war, and we attack where it is most advantageous for us and where we suffer the least losses," he said.
Other hopeful signs include the high losses Russia has been suffering more recently, to the extent that they have had to call on the support of North Korean troops.
Russia's losses in 2024 surpassed those of the previous two years combined, Syrskyi noted.
Syrskyi revealed that Russia's troop losses in 2024 exceeded 434,000 soldiers, of which 150,000 had been killed.
As of January 19, Ukraine's General Staff had estimated Russia's total losses since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022 to be 818,740 troops.
Other countries' estimates paint a similar picture: The U.K.'s Ministry of Defense has reported Russian losses of 105,000 in 2022, nearly 253,000 in 2023, and over 429,000 last year.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Secretary of Defense has put the figure at more than 700,000—losses exceeding two-thirds of the total number of troops the Russian army had before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
More recently, Moscow has gone down the route of volunteer contracts, rather than issuing another of the unpopular mobilizations which it had carried out earlier in the war and even before it began.
The Kremlin will be facing serious consequences here when the war ends, as large numbers of disaffected contracted soldiers and conscripts alike will have to try to adjust, all at a time of continued high inflation and other economic problems. The Russian oligarch class, hit hard by western sanctions, will also need placating, while other demographic groups known to have made their voices heard include pensioners.
A live map updated in real time showing the Ukraine front lines is here.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Mait Ots
Source: Ukrinform, BNS, LIGA.net, Ukrainska Pravda, LIGA.net, The Kyiv Independent