Sergey Surovikin called the circumstances “tense” and hasn’t ruled out having to make tough choices.
In his first media interview since taking over overall leadership of the current Russian military operation in Ukraine, Army General Sergey Surovikin talked to the media on Tuesday.
In his remark to the network Rossiya-24, he described the situation as particularly “tight” around the city of Kherson and said that the military might be had to make “tough decisions.”
“The NATO command of the armed forces of Ukraine has long been demanding offensive operations in the Kherson direction from the Kiev regime, regardless of any casualties – both in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and among the civilian population,” Surovikin stated.
According to Surovikin, the Russian military is aware of Kiev’s plans to deploy “illegal” methods to wage war in the Kherson region. In particular, Ukraine is getting ready to unleash a big attack on the Dnieper River hydroelectric plant Kakhovka as well as a massive rocket and artillery attack on Kherson itself.
According to Surovikin, “These operations could result in the devastation of the infrastructure of this significant industrial center and significant casualties among the civilian population.”
Kiev is massing its reserves into the frontline in an ongoing endeavor to drive the Russian military from its positions, the general claimed. Surovikin noted that the majority of those reserves are “territorial defense groups, who have not received enough training.” Such troops have low morale, thus they are propped up by “barrier squads” composed of hardline nationalists “who shoot anyone trying to leave the battlefield,” he claimed.
The enemy’s daily losses amount to hundreds of casualties. We have a different strategy. <…> We are not aiming at fast-paced offensives, we spare every soldier and methodically grind the enemy’s attacking forces. This not only minimizes our own losses, but also significantly reduces the amount of victims among the civilian population.
“The enemy is the criminal regime that pushes Ukrainian citizens towards death. We are one people with Ukrainians and only wish for Ukraine to be a state independent from the West and NATO and friendly towards Russia,” Surovikin said.
Surovikin assumed overall command of Russian troops participating in the military operation earlier in October. The general has significant combat experience, ranging from hostilities in Chechnya to the operation in Syria, for which he was awarded the title of Hero of Russia back in 2017.
According to media sources, Surovikin’s colleagues dubbed him “General Armageddon” because of his rigid and unconventional style of combat. His promotion to the new position came at the same time that Russia intensified aerial strikes across Ukraine, using cruise missiles and drone suicide attacks on key infrastructure targets.
