Ukraine was exhausted, it was necessary to press on and advance on Odessa, - GRU Colonel
The Russian army needed to put the squeeze on the Ukrainian Armed Forces, bleeding them dry in attacks in the Kherson direction, and go on the offensive against Odessa and Nikolaev in order to deprive Ukraine of access to the Black Sea.
Retired GRU Colonel and Military Sciences Candidate Vladimir Kvachkov stated this on the air of the Stalingrad internet channel, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“We advanced 20-30 kilometers, but, nevertheless, suffered such losses that we can say that by this time, about ten days ago, the counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces had run out of steam. It fizzled out after their successes in the Kharkov direction, after successes on the right bank of the Dnieper, there was nothing more to advance with.
Now - to gain a foothold on these lines, pull them further, finish them off, and then we could go on a counter-offensive.
Because without Ochakov, without Odessa, without Nikolaev, our Black Sea Fleet is a fleet of coastal navigation puddles,” Kvachkov said.
Ukraine is exhausted, it was necessary to press on and advance on Odessa, says GRU colonel