Ukrainian officer on battlefield situation and foreign aid – interview
Ruslan Koshulynskyi, chief sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, deputy leader of the Svoboda [Freedom] political party and former deputy chairman of the Ukrainian parliament, spoke in an interview with Radio NV on Feb. 20 about the shortage of weapons at the front and Kyiv’s relationship with its Western partners.
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NV: Tell us what’s the situation at the front in terms of our artillery’s work? It’s clear the situation is very tense, as Ukraine struggles with artillery shell shortages while U.S. aid remains blocked by the U.S. Congress.
Koshulynskyi: Artillerymen have two basic sayings: “it’s not us” and “give us more.” Two things we need: give us more ammunition so we can work effectively. An artilleryman’s sweat saves an infantryman’s blood. The more ammunition the artilleryman has, the more of our infantrymen remain alive. This is a given.
Today, the Russians, for example, can use KAB-500s—guided bomb that is dropped from an aircraft—to hunt individual mortar squads of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which are so effective that expensive ammunition as KAB bombs are used against them.
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Yes, we’re more effective, we’re better trained and skilled as artillerymen. We can use higher quality foreign artillery equipment and can even use Western shells with our mortars, given that our calibers are the same.
But the situation is somewhat different with barreled artillery. If the NATO caliber is 155 mm, the older Ukrainian (former Soviet) caliber is 152 mm and 122 mm, for which we have very few shells and would like to have more.
If we can use Western weapons, they work on a different principle. Not covering vast areas but striking a point target. If the enemy uses a large number of shells to saturate an area, we use a much smaller number to hit the target, and we do it better. The only problem is the amount of ammunition, which is very small.
NV: I have a question for you as a politician. What do you think about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy replacing the Commander-in-Chief and the retreat from Avdiivka that followed shortly afterwards?
Koshulynskyi: Changes of command aren’t discussed in the military, as a rule. When I served in 2015, I never allowed myself to criticize, for example, [former President Petro] Poroshenko, given that he was my Supreme Commander-in-Chief. I was discharged in 2016, I had the right as a civilian to say whatever I think. It’s the same now. The Ukrainians elected the current Supreme Commander-in-Chief [Zelenskyy], which means I submit to the will of the Ukrainians. When I finish my service, I’ll say everything I have the right to say as a civilian about those actions.
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I would approach this from a different angle. We have a mechanism of trust from our partners, and this is very important. When I headed the Ukrainian delegation to NATO, I also served as the deputy chairman of the Ukrainian parliament, my main question to NATO members was always the following: why are you happy to arm the Poles but don’t want to give us weapons? We will fight [Russia].
Their answer was very simple: yes, maybe you’ll fight, we agree with that, but we trust them and not you. Because there is a [large] number of Russian agents in the [Ukrainian government], and if we give you our weapons, the Russians could have them the next day.
Be reliable – this is the most basic requirement of our Western partners. So that Ukraine becomes a reliable partner in all aspects. First of all, it concerns intelligence, effective special forces, and enemy agents, which had to be completely eradicated from the corridors of power. This is very important. This is a task for the government to show that we’re reliable. And it’s not for a year or two, but [forever] that we must remain reliable partners.
As for the events in Avdiivka. The Sich Battalion (this is the Svoboda Battalion that was created back in 2014) has been deployed in Avdiivka since 2014 until now, for 10 years. This is one of the volunteer battalions created in Svoboda, these are our comrades-in-arms. They have withdrawn now. It was a heavily fortified area. The only thing they lacked was ammunition, as follows from my conversation with fellow soldiers.
Today the Kremlin has one consolation, namely they saw our partners’ chaotic actions. I mean, election processes have kicked off in many European countries and in the United States, our primary partner. These delays, both with funding and ammunition, are a blessing for the Russians.
They understand they have a very narrow window of opportunity in which they can enter and then determine the conditions for this war. That is, push us away from the territories in all positions as much as possible, and then come out with a proposal for some kind of negotiations, the so-called Korean option. This is what they’ll deal with now. That’s why they send [all forces], they don’t care how much [manpower] they lose. They lose thousands, they don’t care as they must capture more territory.
Avdiivka was a very good strategic salient. They were very afraid of it due to its proximity to Donetsk, and they had to take it.
Our task remains unchanged. The one who endures, wins the war. And the task of everyone, including the country’s leadership, is to unite our society, regardless of whether it’s a civilian, a military person, or a Ukrainian living abroad. Uniting in a single push, a single family. Then we won’t have any problems. If we have internal consolidation, everything will be fine and fair. But if it doesn’t happen and there are chaotic movements, we’ll have problems, particularly at the front.
NV: Can you imagine how a country smaller in size, resources, and population can defeat a bigger aggressor?
Koshulynskyi: We won’t mention anything new here. We must become too “prickly” for Russia to try and eat, kind of like a porcupine that can deter a larger predator.
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Look at Switzerland—no one even thinks of attacking it. Same with Israel. A small country, surrounded by a huge Islamic world that wants to destroy it, but no one can do it.
Why can’t Ukraine be [like this], based on its capabilities? Because everyone serves and undergoes military training there. If you don’t want to work or serve, you have no right to hold positions in state authorities, military, or police structures, and you have to pay higher taxes. Then it’s fair. If a Swiss citizen didn’t come to Switzerland for military training, no matter where they are, in what part of the planet, it’s a crime. Ukraine should become such a country.
Therefore, it doesn’t matter which country is large or small in today’s technological conditions. Here we have to look at ourselves, whether we’re ready to fight or not.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
