Western Support Not Enough to Face Russian Minefields, Military Commander Says Ukraine Must Innovate

Ukrainian military commander General Valery Zaluzhnyi. (Source: President.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - Ukraine must be able to innovate as the war with Russia moves to a static fighting stage, which will allow Russia to rebuild its military strength, said Ukraine's military chief.

In an article for The Economist published on Wednesday, General Valery Zaluzhnyi said his troops needed new military capabilities and technological innovation to emerge from the new phase of the war, now in its 21st month.

He described the risks of prolonged and draining fighting.

"This will benefit Russia, allowing them to rebuild their military strength, ultimately threatening Ukraine's armed forces and the country itself," he wrote, reported by Reuters, November 2.

The article appears nearly five months after a major Ukrainian counteroffensive that has yet to produce a major breakthrough against Russia's heavily mined defense lines.

Fighting is expected to slow as the weather worsens, as winter approaches.

Russian troops themselves have carried out attacks in several parts of the east. Kyiv fears Moscow plans to launch a campaign of airstrikes to cripple the power grid, leaving millions of people in the dark in the middle of winter.

"Just like in the First World War, we have reached a technological level that has left us at a dead end," General Zaluzhnyi said in an interview published alongside his article.

The article highlighted Russia's superior air power as a factor complicating Russia's advance, calling for Kyiv to carry out massive drone strikes to overwhelm Russia's air defenses.

"Basic weapons, such as missiles and bullets, remain important. But Ukraine's armed forces need key military capabilities and technologies to emerge from this kind of war. The most important is air power," he wrote.

He also said Ukraine must get better at destroying Russian artillery and design better mine-piercing technology, saying Western supplies have proven insufficient against Russian minefields that stretch as far as 20 km (12 miles) in some areas.

He also warned that a priority for Ukraine was building up reserve forces, although he said Ukraine had limited capacity to train them domestically, highlighting gaps in the law that allow people to avoid conscription.

“We are trying to fix this problem. "We are introducing a unified conscription list, and we must expand the categories of citizens who can be called up for training or mobilization," he said.

"We are also introducing 'combat apprenticeships', which involve placing newly mobilized and trained personnel in experienced frontline units to prepare them," concluded General Zaluzhnyi.