Oleksandr Tarnavsky, commander of the Tavria Operational and Strategic Group of Troops, has said that they are “up against one of the strongest armies” and they have intensified attacks along the entire front.
In an interview with the BBC Ukraine, Tarnavsky was asked if he believes that the situation at the front has reached an impasse.
Tarnavsky told BBC Ukraine, “I think not yet. To date, it has accurate logistical results. We should not forget that we are up against one of the strongest armies, which has its own corresponding resource.”
He added, “for almost two years there has been a large-scale invasion of the Russian aggressor and almost all analysts have given us forecasts that we will not be able to resist.”
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He then stated that despite Russia being a strong army, they “have not” reached their “goals so far.”
He said, “And if we can, it won’t be more than a month or two. And the fact that the enemy has not achieved its stated goals so far is already a significant success for the Ukrainian people and their troops.
“The most important misconception of the enemy is that he did not count on such a unification of our nation, on the support that continues today.
“Therefore, if someone says that this is a dead end, no, this is not a dead end, this is our state today.”
Tarnavsky said that the situation is tensely complicated and that Russian forces have intensified their attacks almost along the entire line of combat.
He said, “We are clearly aware that his strategic goal is the elimination of Ukrainian statehood.
“Therefore, the Russian leadership wants to somehow implement all these intentions by the end of this year.
“At a minimum, this is the capture of the settlement of Avdiyivka. And a more ambitious goal is to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and seize territories in areas lost by the Russians during our offensive operations in Zaporizhia direction.”
Tarnavsky then confirmed that Russia is constantly sending reinforcements to Avdiyivka area. “Yes. They are constantly being reinforced. These are mainly units such as Storm Z, Storm V,” he told BBC Ukraine.
He stressed that in Avdiyivka, Russia’s efforts are focused on two directions, the commander added that if we compare Maryinka with Avdiyivka, then Russian troops will not want to enter Avdiyivka.
“He wants to bypass it to avoid fighting in the city – this will further complicate his problems. We observed this during the battles for Bakhmut,” the general stressed.
He added, “Today, the enemy has become more active all over the front line, and directly in my operating area.
“Somewhere he determined the direction of the main blow, somewhere distracting. So, regarding Avdiyivka, it is located in the direction of their main strike.
“Maryinka is a different direction. Novomykhailivka is, for example, a distracting direction. Novopavlivka direction also has its own purpose.”
He then said that Robotyne is “a piece of terrain where the enemy had losses in the territory, where he presses, conducts active assault operations.”
“But when the enemy attacks in any area, believe me, there are both positive and negative consequences for them. They are trying to succeed, but it is important for us to hold on and give a clear rebuff,” Tarnavsky stressed.
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