Russia Is Prepared to Lose 2,000 Soldiers for Every Meter of Ukrainian Territory — National Guard

The Russian command is prepared to lose thousands of soldiers in order to advance even a short distance into Ukrainian territory. This was stated by Ihor Yaremenko, chief of staff of the DAR OABr of the Ukrainian National Guard. According to him, Dobropillya in the Donetsk region remains one of the main targets of Russian assaults in the National Guard’s area of responsibility.

He noted that Russian troops are attempting to infiltrate populated areas in small infantry groups.

At the same time, the Defense Forces are strengthening the defense of Dobropillya and constructing fortifications to prevent the city from being captured.

"The enemy, in principle, isn’t really changing its tactics. Small infantry groups are trying to infiltrate populated areas, including Dobropillya, but the Defense Forces, I repeat, are effectively neutralizing these groups, preventing the enemy from having a chance to build up its resources to maximize its attacks on the city of Dobropillia,” Yaremenko said.

The military official emphasized that even the loss of a small piece of territory creates additional risks, since Ukrainian defenders will eventually have to retake it during counterattacks.

“That’s why, as I’ve said, we’re focusing our efforts as much as possible, because we understand that if the enemy captures even a small patch of land, our defense forces will have to retake it and launch counterattacks,” he noted. 

Russia Disregards Casualties and Destroys Dobropillia

According to Yaremenko, one of the main dangers remains the Russian command’s willingness to send troops into assaults without regard for their casualties.

At the same time, Russian troops continue to employ tactics aimed at destroying populated areas. Dobropillia is being struck with guided aerial bombs, artillery, and multiple-launch rocket systems. 

In addition, numerous drones are attempting to monitor logistics routes and are attacking civilian infrastructure.

“That’s why defense is always a bit easier, but only on the condition that the enemy is concentrating a great many forces, and most importantly, the enemy isn’t even trying to spare the lives of its own soldiers, sending them straight into so-called ‘meat grinders.’ That is why this poses the greatest danger,” explained a National Guard representative. 

Russian troops are pressing along the entire front line

Ihor Yaremenko noted that Russia is concentrating its main resources on the Donetsk-Luhansk metropolitan area, while simultaneously attempting to hold positions in other sectors and prepare the ground for new assaults.

In the Kharkiv and Lyman sectors, Russian forces are attempting to hold their positions on the right bank of the Oskil River and are continuing their assaults. According to Yaremenko, such attacks occur daily, although their intensity is lower than in the Dobropillia and Kostiantynivka sectors.

Pressure also remains on the Sumy and Zaporizhzhia fronts. 

"The enemy hasn’t given up hope; it is exerting pressure across the entire front line. We’re in contact with our comrades, and this applies to both the Sumy and Zaporizhzhia sectors, so the entire front line is under the enemy’s most intense pressure,” the military official said.

He added that the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to neutralize and destroy a significant number of Russian troops.

According to Yaremenko, the scale of losses Russia is willing to incur for the sake of a minor advance demonstrates its disregard for the lives of its own soldiers.

“The Russians simply disregard the lives of their own soldiers; they are willing to trade one or two thousand of their own soldiers for a single meter of Ukrainian land,” he emphasized. 

Ihor Yaremenko, Chief of Staff of the DAR OABr of the National Guard of Ukraine, made this statement during a televised marathon. 

Earlier, the ISW explained how Russia has changed its tactics for massive strikes against Ukraine.

As a reminder, Russia has modernized the Geran-4 drone, equipping it with new navigation systems and a warhead.

The Russians carried out 172 attacks in the past 24 hours: the Pokrovsk direction remains the hottest.

Over the past 24 hours, 185 combat engagements took place on the front lines, and the enemy deployed 156 guided munitions, according to the General Staff.