Muzhenko’s ex-counselor: No one in the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense can solve the Donbas problem
The shelling of the AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine) by separatists in the Donbas does not pursue any strategic interests, as was stated in a commentary for InfoResist by the former adviser to the chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, volunteer Nathan Hazin.
“All these shellings have no strategic interests. These are not structures, not roads. It's just to keep us tense and alert. The deaths of our soldiers, all this makes you angry, and then someone will break the order and go ahead. Then we can be accused of a full-scale offensive,” he said.
According to Khazin, such a situation in the Donbas can last for years.
“This can last for years, and from our side this can also last for years, because we do not have the expertise to conduct combat operations of this nature. At best, our older generals had experience in a 10-year war in Afghanistan. These are the best of those who have combat experience. Moreover, absolutely none of our generals are going to conduct an active operation, they do not need it,” the volunteer expressed.
Khazin recalled that “for 25 years the Ukrainian army was undercut and they did not worry about anything.”
“Everyone was stagnant. Then for the last three years there has been funding, they started to be looked at again. But to say that there are generals, that there are people that are interested in solving this problem from a military perspective, they simply do not exist. Neither in the General Staff, nor in the Ministry — nowhere,” he reported.
The volunteer expressed the opinion that a protracted conflict in the Donbas will eventually lead to the emergence of real generals who could really solve these problems or delay action and remain in an uncertain status, which will result in the deaths of many people.
“They [the commanders] know how to solve this issue, but they do not try to solve it. It must be understood that any kind of operation is based on the political will of the country. The country asks: how can this issue be solved? The army responds: we see that we need this, this, and this, and then we can solve this issue. And then the country provides what is needed and the army solves this issue. We need: a) political will, and b) the allocation of funds and so on. When all these elements are taken into account then we have an operation. We have exactly the opposite,” Hazin concluded.