Easier for Ukraine to liberate Crimea than Donbas, veteran commander says
Read also: Improved cooperation helping Russia ramp up offensive in Bakhmut, UK intel
In 2014, Dykyi commanded Aidar’s 2nd Company. Since 2018, he heads Ukraine’s National Antarctic Research Center, being an accomplished scientist and holding a PhD in ecology.
“First of all, we must understand it won’t be easy: we shouldn’t expect Donbas to crumble as easily as Kharkiv Oblast did last fall (during Ukraine’s Kharkiv counteroffensive),” said Dykyi.
“Speaking in strictly military sense, liberating Crimea is much simpler task than liberating Donbas. I won’t be surprised if take Sevastopol before Donetsk. It could all turn out the other way, but I hope we won’t repeat the mistakes (Russians) made last year and are making now.”
Read also: Ukraine testing new weapons may lead to blasts in Crimea, says top security official
Commenting on the ongoing brutal fight over Bakhmut, Dykyi said he expects Kyiv to employ a different approach when it comes to liberating occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
“I very much hope we won’t be assaulting Donbas head-on, like they are doing right now,” he adds.
Read also: Satellite photo show Russian fortifications in northern Crimea
“Those should be wide operations to surround (the enemy), avoiding close-quarters combat in industrialized urban areas and fighting over every meter – as (the Russians) have been doing in recent months. In that sense, our operation to liberate Donbas will not mirror (the Russian advance), that it will be organized in a completely different fashion.”
To pull off such a maneuver and surround Russian troops in Donbas, Dykyi said Ukraine might even have to cross into Russia proper.
Read also: Ukrainian military reports Russia’s plan to transfer 4,000 troops from Belarus to Donbas
“As I said, the only viable options are deep operations to envelop (the enemy), maybe even cutting through Russian territory,” he concludes.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
