The former commander of Poland’s special forces has said Ukraine has not been able to launch a counteroffensive and has only engaged in skirmishes in a limited number of locations. His remarks echoed earlier comments by another senior Polish military figure.
General Roman Polko, the former commanding officer of Poland’s elite special forces GROM told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) those who say Ukraine is on the counteroffensive are indulging in wishful thinking.
“This may be because of a lack of preparation or the lack of air and artillery power but, in reality, Ukraine is limiting itself to tactical manoeuvres near the [eastern Ukraine city of] Bakhmut and in the South [of the country]. I hope that these moves are just a prelude to a decisive assault that could lead to a breakthrough,” he said.
Gen Polko said it was not accurate to describe the present Ukrainian actions as a “counteroffensive” because “a counteroffensive is, by definition, an assault on a broad range of fronts with the use of huge forces, the use of which leads to seizing the initiative”. He said that, in reality, the counteroffensive does not exist.
He posited that a lack of equipment and ammunition from Ukraine’s western allies was why Ukraine was not actually engaged in such action. He agreed with the assessment made recently by John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, who said the Ukrainians have now received everything they have asked for regarding munitions “with the exception of ATACMS long-range missiles”.
The Polish general said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin has been forced to abandon plans to occupy Ukraine and is now aiming purely for a ceasefire that he could present as a victory. Gen Polko said Putin is under pressure from China to bring the war to an end.
Fellow Polish general Leon Komornicki, a former deputy chief of staff, in mid-July told Polish news outlet Nowa Konfederacja that the Ukrainians were engaged in tactical rather than strategic manoeuvres and therefore they cannot be said to have launched a counteroffensive.
The retired general said he did not believe the Ukrainians were making much headway into Russian-occupied territory. He added that, in his opinion, Ukraine does not have the necessary numerical or logistical superiority to be able to break through Russian defensive positions and make significant territorial gains.
Komornicki added that Russia has had months to prepare defensive lines in territories it occupies and the invaders have deployed mines extensively.
Moreover, on certain parts of the front, he said it was the Russian forces that on the offensive and there was a danger that they could break through Ukrainian defensive positions.
