Ukraine's greater success during the summer offensive was hampered, among other things, by the enemy's well-prepared defences. The Russian defences consisted of several lines of defence that had been erected not just for a month, but throughout the entire period of Ukraine's preparation for the offensive, Oleksandr Tarnavskyy, commander of the Tavria operational and strategic group of troops, told BBC Ukraine.
The Russians' strengths include troops, minefields, prepared positions, and a willingness to send their personnel to their deaths without regret. They also have an air superiority.
"The very high density of minefields, the saturation of enemy combat formations, anti-tank weapons, electronic warfare and attack drones. And also, the inability to use armoured vehicles to the fullest extent, which complicated our active advancement and affected the speed of offensive actions. The most important thing is that our soldiers were not afraid, they did what they had to do. Yes, it was slower, much slower than we have seen in previous wars, read in books or been told. Today, the tactics are changing, the ratio of forces and means is changing, the means of influence on both the advancing and defending troops are changing," the commander explained.
He added that electronic warfare has intensified, including kamikaze drones and surveillance.
"This is the war of the future. We all learn from these mistakes and draw conclusions. At the same time, I will say that we may not have overcome the depth, but we have made the leap that gives us space for our further offensive actions," Tarnavskyy said.