ATTENTION!
This is a SITREP of historic importance for another part of America’s foreign policy (THREAD 1 of 2).
I’ve adjusted it slightly to protect people, but basic research will show this assessment is universal within the Ukrainian armed forces (my gut tells me it is due to severe corruption and incompetence).
While President Trump is contemplating the acceptable criteria for “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” of the radical Islamist supremacists of Iran, i want to briefly shift focus to the WAR IN EUROPE (yes, it is still raging & it has already cost the U.S. taxpayers north of $500B with little to show for it.
This was a STUPID WAR.
Below comes from a soldier on the front lines:
An army is sustained by food, but its will to fight, its ability to withstand & destroy the enemy, is in the hands of its command. There is a huge difference between a unit that simply survives & a unit that actually fights.
Let's start by saying that this is not an appeal to a specific command, but it is something that, in my opinion, is critically lacking in understanding among the officer corps of Ukraine. A mediocre officer in peacetime affects combat readiness — which can sometimes be ignored. But a mediocre or incompetent officer in wartime leads to the death of soldiers & reduces the morale of the unit & its ability to hold the defense or conduct offensive operations.
We have lost more people due to poor command than from Russian actions. I will repeat again: as a soldier since February 2022, I claim that we have lost more people due to poor leadership & “Soviet” thinking than from direct Russian actions. The officer corps of Ukraine behaves like a caste system of untouchables or "army princes". Instead of caring about the normal living conditions of soldiers, most of the leadership is more concerned about the availability of a shower, a private room, etc.
This system allows incompetent officers not only to avoid responsibility, but also to be promoted or transferred to other positions to avoid red tape or so that the brigade or battalion commander who appointed them does not have to demote friends or deal with the consequences. This system of nepotism has a direct impact on the situation on the front lines.
A real-life example is the XYZ Brigade. After [a commander] was transferred to the SBS, command then was transferred to [another commander]. In the first two months of his new command, he sent intelligence officers on assault operations, which led to deaths & serious injuries among those who had nothing to do with combat operations. This undermined not only the morale but also the effectiveness of the unit. He sent soldiers to unreachable positions without any hope of reinforcement or even survival. It took more than 16 months for him to be removed from his post. 16 months of decisions that cost dozens, if not hundreds, of lives.
Such situations are part of the problem in the Land Forces of Ukraine. The NCO corps has not been properly formed since the start of a full-scale war in 2022, & the officer corps continues to live according to Soviet templates, where failures are covered up, & soldiers pay for it. We shed blood for Ukraine, we die for Ukraine, we fight for our children, wives, sons & daughters - while officers who do not care, who are not motivated, who do not have the right to command, continue to make mistakes that lead to senseless deaths.
I can’t speak for the level above the battalion, but given the recent statements of officers who tried to change the system & were forced to resign, this should be a signal to those in power. Change is needed if we want to preserve the freedom of the next generation, Ukrainian identity, & continue the path to democracy. At the current pace, these officers will continue to fill the cemeteries with brave, courageous Ukrainians for no good reason.