– From a political point of view, Ukraine has achieved a lot. First of all, it has shown the world that it is fighting for its country, that it has such capabilities and that the morale of the Ukrainian army is high – said General Mieczysław Bieniek in “Fakty po Faktach” when asked what gave Kiev access to Russian territory. In his opinion, Ukraine has also achieved its military goal of surprising the enemy. Bieniek also described the course of the offensive and explained why, in his opinion, “it all worked”.
General Mieczysław Bieniek, former deputy commander NATO for transformation and member of the Euro-Atlantic Association in Warsaw and Washington, was asked on “Fakty po Faktach” on TVN24 why the Ukrainians entered the Russian Kursk Oblast on the border and how this affected the morale of both sides in the war.
Bieniek emphasized that “every carefully planned operation must have its political and military goal, and the so-called military and political end state, i.e.: what after that”. – From the political point of view Ukraine she has achieved a lot. Above all, she has shown the world that she is fighting for her country – he assessed.
Another day of Ukrainian offensive in RussiaJustyna Zuber/Facts about the World TVN24 BiS
He added that “by entering enemy territory directly at the combat area, Kiev also showed that Ukraine has such capabilities”. – But it also showed that the morale of the Ukrainian army is high. And at the same time, from the Russians' point of view, morale has somehow weakened – he noted. In his opinion, “the aggressors suddenly saw the face of this war”. So – he summed up – “we have a political goal”.
– As for the military objective, we can see that it was very carefully planned. First of all: surprise – he continued. Asked how it was possible that the Russians were surprised, the TVN24 guest assessed that “this indicates a weak reconnaissance system, command system and battlefield management system”.
He pointed out that the Ukrainian actions required the regrouping of “two or three brigades and grouping them in preparation for the strike.” – It's not like it's not being noticed, either – he said.
General Bieniek: Every operation must have a political and military goal TVN24
How the offensive went. General Bieniek explains
General Bieniek also explained that the offensive was preceded by “very precise actions of sabotage and reconnaissance groups, indicating the direction of entry, introducing the first wave, which quickly entered the area, fighting military objects encountered”. – At the same time, he was covered by the fire of his mobile anti-aircraft units, because they shot down one Su-35 aircraft. They also had light artillery with them, but they were also covered by long-range artillery – he noted.
General Bieniek on how Ukraine managed to surprise the Russians in Kursk OblastTVN24
– Then they introduced the second echelon, maintaining continuity of command and, above all, logistical support – he added. As he said, “it all worked, i.e. this BMS – Battlefield Management System, i.e. seeing the battlefield in real time – worked”.
– At the same time, they – that is, not they themselves, but their commanders and the apparatus prepared for this – conducted a wide information campaign, hanging flags, announcing that we were in Suja – added the general.
Another day of Ukraine's offensive in Kursk region. Soldiers replace Russian flags with Ukrainian onesAndrzej Zaucha/Fakty TVN
Main image source: PAP/EPA/Press service of 24 Mechanized brigade