“I think that the fighting will reach Kherson” - Klupov
During the attack on Kherson, the Ukrainian Armed Forces in some sectors of the front are able to create a ratio of forces of eight to one in their favor.
This was stated by the former head of intelligence of the Ground Forces of the Russian Armed Forces, retired Colonel Rustem Klupov, in response to a question about the motives behind the statement of the commander of the Northern Military District regarding the seriousness of the situation in the Kherson direction, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“Surovikin’s harsh statement is due to the fact that the enemy has a serious superiority in manpower. Equipment and weapons are also being collected there. This is one of the basic elements of the calculations we make when preparing for battle, whether offensive or defensive. The ratio should be one to three in favor of the attacking side.
Three weeks ago the ratio was one to four across the entire strip. This allows the enemy in selected directions to increase the ratio, for example, to one to eight,” Klupovo told Moskovsky Komsomolets.
He believes that in this situation, the “network-centric principle of conducting combat operations and destroying the enemy at distant approaches” can help effectively resist the Armed Forces of Ukraine, so that “only scraps of the enemy reach the front line, the shooting battle.”
“If this is done, and we know how to do this, then, accordingly, the position of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is hopeless.
In addition, we have air superiority on our side. We are now using our aviation carefully so as not to incur losses. But a group of enemy air defense forces has already been seriously defeated, so we will act in this direction as well,” the ex-intelligence officer predicts.
He positively assessed the evacuation of civilians from Kherson, noting that it was necessary so that “the soldiers had a free hand and did not have to worry about the fact that civilians were dying.”
“I think that the fighting will reach Kherson. I won’t predict whether we will give it away or not. I don’t know such a deep, true state of affairs and I don’t have calculations to talk about it,” the publication’s interlocutor clarified.
According to him, Kherson is one of the key points at the border of which you can gain a foothold, a populated area full of large buildings.
“Liberation from the population will allow us to operate in the city,” says the retired colonel.
He does not rule out that Russia may use some special weapon.
“Technically we can. The decision is up to the commander. But I am not talking about tactical nuclear weapons in any case. There are no reasons for its use.
At the same time, there are a lot of prototypes in trial operation that we have not used yet, but tested on the eve of the special operation. Whether they will use it or not, I don’t know. But I will say this: the trend is towards increasing the calibers and power of each of the ammunition. Everything is on the rise. In general, this offensive suggests that the enemy’s offensive fervor has not yet been completely interrupted,” Klupov concluded.
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