Ukrainian ambush tactics to slow Russian siege of Kiiu
▲Ukrainian soldiers move in armored vehicles outside the capital Kiiu (Kyiv) on the 5th (local time). Kiiwu/AP Yonhap News
Russian prisoners of war who invaded Ukraine testified, providing a clue to what the war was like in the northern Ukrainian capital of Kiiu (Kyiv).
In particular, the New York Times (NYT) introduced on the 5th (local time) that many of the Russian soldiers were unaware of the invasion at all, according to POW testimonies.
Twelve soldiers of a Russian tank unit, who had been captured in an ambush, sat in the office of the Ukrainian news agency, stiff-faced.
Lieutenant Dmitry Kovalensky, who was a member of a Russian tank unit and testified under the direction of the Ukrainian side, said, “We were attacked by drones and infantry anti-tank missiles on a road near the Sumi region in northern Ukraine, and the entire unit was set on fire.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been shown to have kept the invasion a complete secret, even from his own soldiers. “I only found out the day before the tank column started moving it was going to invade Ukraine,” said Lieutenant Kovalensky.
“Our soldiers have a different way of fighting the Russians,” said Ukrainian Army Lieutenant Yevgeny Yaranchev. did.
“Russians had a lot of tanks, but we have a lot of anti-tank weapons,” he said. “It’s easier to fight in the city.”
Officials from both sides testified that Ukrainian forces have relied primarily on ambush tactics to delay operations to besiege and capture the capital while Russian forces fire across the south.
The captured Russians looked exhausted, but showed no signs of abuse. The prisoners’ comments support the explanations of Western military experts and the Ukrainian government as to why the Russian military has suffered severe setbacks. However, the superior numbers and equipment of the Russian military could reverse this trend, the New York Times added.
