Kyiv generals blamed after 1000 troops lost in ‘suicidal’ mission

At least 262 soldiers died and 778 are still missing in action after nine months of fighting for Krynky in the Kherson region.

The Ukrainian military said that its positions in Krynky had been ‘completely destroyed’ by Russian forces. Picture: Getty Images

More than 1000 Ukrainian soldiers are believed to have been killed during an unsuccessful operation to establish a foothold on the left bank of the Dnipro River that some troops described as suicidal.

At least 262 soldiers died and 778 are still missing in action after nine months of fighting for the village of Krynky in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region, according to a report by the Kyiv-based Slidstvo investigative journalism website. It said the figures had been shared by unnamed Ukrainian police officials.

“Some guys lay (on the left bank) for 10 days with torn-off limbs but the boats could not get to us,” said Vasyl, a soldier. Upon entering Krynky, he said, Ukrainian troops were immediately encircled by the Kremlin’s forces.

“There were Russians to the right and left of us, and Russians in front of us. Behind us, there was water. There was nowhere to fall back to.”

The Ukrainian military said on Thursday its positions in Krynky had been “completely destroyed” by Russian forces.

It denied reports that Ukraine had withdrawn from the village, however.

It is extremely unusual for Ukrainian media to report on casualty figures.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in February that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died since Russia invaded in February 2022. But US officials said last August the Ukrainian death toll was more than twice that figure.

Russian forces pulled back to the left bank of the Dnipro River after being forced to retreat from the city of Kherson in November 2022. Ukrainian marines first crossed the river in October and managed to secure a bridgehead around Krynky, but were unable to make significant headway.

In December some Ukrainian soldiers told the Kyiv Independent website they thought the operation was a political decision and that their lives were being sacrificed for the sake of a small symbolic victory on the battlefield. “People are killed to hold on to the ruins,” Senior Sergeant Petro said.

The operation was launched as it became clear Ukraine’s much vaunted counteroffensive was a failure. There are suspicions it was launched to reassure Kyiv’s Western allies about Ukraine’s ability to recover occupied territories.

Svitlana, the mother of Oleh Kushelyuk, a 24-year-old soldier who had recently married, said he had called her in April to say he was being sent to the frontline in Krynky. “I might not come back,” he told her. She said: “I called his commanders and they said that he had died, but they could not retrieve his body.”

The Slidstvo report has prompted anger among Ukrainians and accusations that military chiefs are indifferent to the lives of their troops. The operation in Krynky was commanded by General Yuriy Sodol, who was dismissed last month by Mr Zelensky following allegations by an officer from the Azov brigade that his tactics had “killed more Ukrainian soldiers than any Russian general”.

However, Oleksandr Kovalenko, a Ukrainian military expert, argued that the fighting at Krynky had helped tie down Russian forces and prevent them making advances elsewhere. “Each life that was lost there, saved dozens of other lives on other fronts,” he said.

Ukraine’s top generals were viewed as heroes for holding back Russian troops in 2022, but complaints about their attitudes towards their troops have become more common since the failed counteroffensive and Moscow’s advances in the east of the country.

Mariana Bezuhla, an MP, told The Times last month Ukraine would not win the war unless it implemented sweeping changes to rid itself of Soviet-style generals.

She accused some generals of sending soldiers on suicide missions just so they could file reports stating that attempts had been made to recover areas seized by Russian forces. “They do this simply so that they can tick the right boxes,” she said.

THE TIMES