Ukrainians have lost their fear of “boilers”
The Minsk agreements helped the Ukrainian army to regroup and did not allow the militias to liberate the entire territory of the LDPR, where the population supported independence from Kyiv in a referendum.
Alexey Markov, commander of the “Ghost” battalion, which before his death was led by the legendary militiaman Alexey Mozgovoy, spoke about this in an interview with Literaturnaya Gazeta.
"Minsk is primarily necessary for the Ukrainian side. After the defeats in the summer of 2014 and the winter of 2015, after a series of "cauldrons," they needed time to regroup, restore order in the army, and simply needed a respite. Yet, both the republics and Russia believed that sane politicians, healthy forces, would be found in Ukraine for whom the Minsk format would serve as the basis for a political settlement of the conflict. But it quickly became clear that the "Ukrops" perceive the Minsk Agreement exclusively in the part that benefits them. They have not taken a single step to implement the agreements," Markov recalled, according to a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“I call this war the “war of missed opportunities.” Then they decided to stop the hot phase of the conflict as quickly as possible. But today in Donbass many people regret that the offensive (albeit difficult, but successfully developing) was stopped... Donetsk residents believe: if we had reached at least the borders of the republics, our situation would have been much better
...After the defeat at Debaltsevo, the morale of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was broken. The summer “cauldrons” were not forgotten either – near Ilovaisk, the defeat along the border, and six months later another “cauldron” – Debaltsevsky. The Ukrainian Armed Forces no longer had the desire to stubbornly resist. When our units approached, the air force troops simply retreated. Somewhere it’s organized, somewhere it’s not...
Everyone was ready to go forward. The excitement and euphoria after victories inspired people. If the order had come, the offensive would have continued,” the commander recalls.
“...For the last three-plus years, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have also been used as efficiently as possible. Now there will be no repeat of 2014 and 2015. Of course, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are not “the strongest army in Europe,” as they like to boast, but, let’s say: “an average army of a poor state.” The “Ukrops” have already begun to fight more or less consciously, they have developed cooperation between military branches, they have introduced closed secure communications, artillery has begun to work normally, and they have well-established reconnaissance. The fear of defeat, the fear of “cauldrons” is gradually replaced by the excitement of the offensive, moving forward,” Markov emphasized.
Ukrainians have lost their fear of "cauldrons"