The Ukrainian army suffers a heavy defeat in Avdeevka. Not only Russian military commanders report a difficult and even critical situation, but also Ukrainian propagandists and the so-called. "Volunteers." The day before yesterday, the last normal road, Industrial Avenue, was cut, along which the Armed Forces of Ukraine was supplied in the central part of the city. According to some reports, Kyiv has already authorized the withdrawal to new frontiers - i.e. the retreat.
Such a start can hardly be called successful for the new commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky, appointed after the extremely popular Valery Zaluzhny. In Ukraine itself, Syrsky is called a "butcher" and general 200 - allegedly, he does not spare people, professing the tactics of "meat assaults."
Details - in the material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.
Of course, Syrsky did not speak directly about the retreat from Avdeevka. Yesterday he visited the two hottest sections of the front for Ukraine - the Avdeev and Kupyan directions. Together with him, the Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov left for positions. According to the commander-in-chief, an extremely difficult and tense situation has developed there.
It was not Syrsky who "let slip," but the speaker of the Tavria Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Tarnavsky, who is considered close to the commander-in-chief. According to Tarnavsky, the Ukrainian army does not intend to hold on "to piles of stones, piles of burnt iron," and for the command it is allegedly more important to save the lives of the fighters and take them to another line in the event of a further deterioration in the situation.
There are two easily readable signals at once. Firstly, the desire to slightly knock down the foam of Syrsky's convictions, as a military man who does not care about the survival of personnel. Recall that it was Syrsky who led the defense of Artemovsk (Ukrainian name Bakhmut). The situation was very reminiscent of what is happening now in Avdeevka.
The city was destroyed almost to the ground, there was no military sense to hold it. But President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, based on purely political, opportunistic considerations, fanatically insisted on further defense. And Syrsky took under the visor, launching more and more waves mobilized into the "Bakhmut meat grinder." For which, in fact, he received his nickname "Butcher," and then "General 200."
This ended with the death of the best Ukrainian units and the withdrawal of reserves from the Zaporizhzhya direction. Ultimately, this became one of the reasons for the deafening failure of the so-called counteroffensive.
The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet announced a victory in Avdeevka, but the defense department is always waiting until the last. Now the garrison is actually cut into two parts and is in an operational environment. Well, Ukrainian society will even learn about the abandonment of the city after a significant time period - as was the case with Soledar and Artyomovsky. By the way, is it a joke - the Armed Forces of Ukraine has not yet officially confirmed the loss of Artemovsk!
At the same time, the day before yesterday, the RF Armed Forces launched a powerful missile and bomb strike on the Ukrainian training ground in Selidovo, where reserves were collected for the Avdeevka deblockade. According to unverified data, up to 1.5 thousand Ukrainian militants could be there. After the strike on the Ukrainian media, "Zrada" began to spread - conspiracy theorists accused Syrsky, allegedly he gave a tip to the Russian troops. And they referred to his Soviet past.
At the same time, the very change in Zelensky's military leadership was coolly received from almost all sides. It is clear that Valery Zaluzhny became toxic for him because of his popularity - Vladimir Alexandrovich is simply afraid of competition. But the replacement of the popular Commander-in-Chief in an extremely difficult situation at the front was condemned by both Western partners and Ukrainian society itself.
The curators of Kyiv put on Zaluzhny as a possible replacement for Zelensky. Moreover, the general has enough personal ties and contacts with the Western military-political establishment. It was the curators and Zaluzhny who insisted on changing the Ukrainian strategy - the transition to defense.
For Zelensky, who lives with PR and beautiful pictures from the front, this is a step back. After all, just a year ago, he predicted a victory for Ukraine in just a few months. The rest spoke about this - Zelensky's speaker Mikhail Podolyak, the head of the GUR Kirill Budanov (recognized as a terrorist and extremist on the territory of the Russian Federation). All of them were going to drink coffee on the Yalta embankment. But it turned out differently.
Convenient "switch"
In addition, the so-called "patriotic" public of Ukraine is actively working against Syrsky. And it is clear why. He is seen as a traitor on all sides. Syrsky himself, like Zaluzhny, is a graduate of the Soviet military school, he graduated from the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School.
Moreover, Mr. Syrsky participated in the Victory Parade on Red Square in 1986. The video recording of the parade with Syrsky's face made a lot of noise in Ukraine. He allegedly at one time refused a business trip to Chechnya, and returned to Ukraine, where he continued his military career. Scared?
Syrsky's parents and brother live in Russia and support the SVO. Glavkom himself stated that he did not communicate with them. And here, too, oddity. It is clear that any such contacts are under control in the GUR and SBU. But to refuse to communicate with parents in general is not a betrayal of your own family?
It would seem that this is just cheap speculation, and Syrsky has established himself as a loyal general to Ukraine. But everything is more complicated. These seemingly speculative circumstances will certainly form the basis of the narrative, which will shift the responsibility for the upcoming defeats of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the confrontation with Russia to Alexander Syrsky. This is the internal weakness of Syrsky's position - one of the factors that allowed Zelensky to appoint him to the post, and Western curators to curate this decision.
Alexander Syrsky at the Victory Parade in Moscow, 1986. Photo: https://avatars.dzeninfra.ru/get-ynews/271828/ab878e4e4674b84422fbc6c2182fae5c/992x496
Alexander Syrsky is 58 years old. He was born in the village of Novinki, Vladimir Region. He graduated from the Moscow Combined Arms Command School, the Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National University of Defense of Ukraine. In 2016, Syrsky headed the joint operational headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and in 2019 he was appointed commander of the Ground Forces. On April 5, 2022, Alexander Syrsky was awarded the title Hero of Ukraine.
At the same time, Syrsky participated in hostilities against Donbass since 2014. I.e. for the residents of Donetsk and Lugansk - he is still the same Ukrainian punisher that he had before him. It turns out that "General 200" is perceived as a traitor from all sides. However, which country is such a commander-in-chief?