How Kyiv gained the edge through deception

Ukraine’s armed forces have used clever tactics to draw Russian troops away to the south before they launched decisive attacks and reclaimed territory in the northeast.

A couple walks past a destroyed building in Izyum, in the Kharkiv region, where Ukraine forces are reclaiming territory. Picture: AFP

Ukraine’s success in the northeast of the country is a result of the military drawing on its reserves, the motivation of its troops and a third key element – deception – according to a Ukrainian military source.

Its armed forces used clever tactics to trick the Russians into believing the main counterattacks would be on the southern front around the port city of Kherson. The result was to draw troops away from the Kharkiv region, where Ukrainian forces have conducted decisive attacks in the past few days, according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.

A Russian-installed official in the region said Ukrainian forces had outnumbered Russian and pro-Russian forces by eight times during the attacks last week. It is understood there were other methods of deception, too, although they are deemed too sensitive to be made public.

A Ukrainian artillery unit fires at a position near a frontline in Kharkiv region. Picture: AFP

The use of western weapons systems such as the American high mobility artillery rocket systems (Himars) and long-range munitions provided by Germany and other NATO nations was also key to the battlefield advances.

As the British Ministry of Defence pointed out, an improvised floating bridge that Russia started building more than two weeks ago remains incomplete and Ukrainian long-range artillery is probably hitting river crossings over the Dnipro so frequently that Russia cannot repair damaged road bridges. This will have affected Russian supply lines and the ability to move troops and equipment.

The Institute for the Study of War said: “The Ukrainian success resulted from skilful campaign design and execution that included efforts to maximise the impact of western weapons systems, such as Himars. Kyiv’s long discussion and then an announcement of a counteroffensive operation aimed at Kherson [region] drew substantial Russian troops away from the sectors on which Ukrainian forces have conducted decisive attacks.”

William Burns, the CIA director, says Russian President Vladimir Putin has underestimated Ukraine’s courage and capacity for combat. Picture: AFP

In the face of the blitz, Russian troops have three options: fight, flee or surrender. The majority have taken the middle option, leaving stockpiles of ammunition, weapons and armoured vehicles.

The only military option left is to maintain artillery strikes against advancing Ukrainian troops and to continue to target civilians with long-range attacks.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive around Kherson is having the same impact on Russian troops. Many are dropping their weapons and retreating.

Speaking in Washington, William Burns, the CIA director, said President Vladimir Putin had underestimated Ukraine’s courage and capacity for combat. It was “hard to see Putin’s record in the war as anything but a failure”. Mr Putin, he added, was surrounded by advisers too afraid to challenge him. The Russian leader had been wrong to believe that the West would lose its resolve to back Ukraine the longer the war continued.

– The Times