Building a defence line does not mean that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are giving up the offensive. In order to carry out offensive operations with confidence, we need to be sure that we can hold our own in defence.
This was stated by Yevhen Dykyi, a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war, former company commander of the Aidar battalion and head of the National Antarctic Research Centre, in a blitz interview with Kommersant Ukrainian
– Zelenskyy plans to build three defence lines with a length of 2000 km. Does this mean that we will not conduct offensive operations, including the liberation of the occupied territories?
No, not in the least. We are now seeing a Russian offensive, and in order for this Russian offensive to take place, they first needed to repel our attack on the Surovikin line, which is actually the model that, unfortunately, we are only now building our defence lines.
Therefore, in order to carry out offensive operations in peace, we must at least be sure that we can hold the defence in case of emergency. Therefore, building a defence line is by no means a substitute for an offensive, but a certain guarantee of security, the basis from which we will then decide when to launch an offensive.
– Are we now moving towards the “German” scenario, when after the Second World War Germany was divided into two parts: GDR and FRG. Like, what we manage to win back before the US elections, we will stay with that?
I think that the US elections are in no way decisive for what we will be left with and what we will do or not do. You are probably referring to Donald Trump’s threats to issue an ultimatum when he becomes president and to cut off US aid if he does. But I remind you that Trump, who has not yet become president, has already stopped all US aid to us for six months. Trump and the Trumpists in Congress have already blocked our aid for six months now, and we have not surrendered, we are still fighting.
Let’s not underestimate the value of our allies’ help, but we shouldn’t overestimate it either – just like in 2022, when we were determining whether we would fight or not, and let me remind you that our allies gave us 3 weeks, and we changed all the forecasts, changed the world’s opinion of what we were capable of.
So, in the same way, yes, we depend to some extent on US assistance, but we should not overestimate this measure. First and foremost, everything is in our hands.
And as it is, whether we will have what you call the GDR and FRG, that is, the division of the country, depends much more on how we conduct or not conduct the next wave of mobilisation than on who and when the US will elect. This is a much more important factor.
– Has any other country ever built such large-scale fortifications?
We can recall the Mannerheim Line, which deterred Stalin’s aggression against Finland and preserved the independence of the Republic of Finland, and we can recall less successful examples, such as the Siegfried Line during World War II.
That is, it is normal to build defensive lines during major wars. The First World War was largely a war on defence lines like this. And when we first saw the Surovikin line, I immediately had associations with Remarque, with his On the Western Front No Change, the Surovikin line was literally just transferred from the 21st century and from the First World War, but it worked.
Author – Iryna Shevchenko