AFU’s Maneuvers Already Inspiring International Military Teaching of the Future, Commander Says

In a blog for state-news agency Ukrinform, the Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Serhii Naiev, said that Polish military commanders have paid close attention to how Ukraine managed to hold back an army many times larger than theirs, and make advances, during the full-scale Russian invasion.

According to Naiev, other Eastern European military instructors likely will use the examples of Donbas maneuvers in strategy classes to come.

“Strategic military operations that have been (and will be) developed and implemented by Ukrainian generals will be the subject of detailed research by military analysts and military academy instructors. But even now, the successes of Ukrainian commanders are gaining recognition by international military experts,” Naiev said in his comments in Ukrinform.

Naiev pointed out that Waldemar Skrzypczak, former commander of the Polish Army, said that the successful liberation of the Kharkiv region was made possible thanks to astute maneuvers in Donbas, “which bled the Russian army dry,” Ukrinform said.

“The first biggest battle, your biggest success, is your defense in Donbas. The commander who led a successful defense for four months is your hero. All other operations are now the result of the fact that you have exhausted the Russian army in Donbas, and it no longer has the strength to defend or fight,” Naiev quoted the Polish commander as saying.

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In his breakdown for the state news agency, Naiev said the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) had “implemented five strategic operations… how deployment of the Defense Forces took place on the eve of the large-scale invasion, how the date and time of the Russian assault were determined, how it was possible to thwart the enemy’s plans to gain full control over the Ukrainian Black Sea coast, preserve the most combat-ready part of the Ukrainian army in the east, and lay the groundwork for the liberation of Kharkiv region,” Ukrinform said.

The AFU’s tactical use of drones has long captured the West’s attention, with NATO leaders in October stating that Ukraine’s creative implementation of technology has “transformed modern warfare.”