We seek what brings success – Ukraine's military chief on new assault forces

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has decided to establish Assault Forces as part of efforts to develop new methods of combat and increase Ukraine’s offensive potential.

Source: Interfax-Ukraine, a Ukrainian news agency, citing Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi during a press conference

Quote: "We face an unusual war. It is a high tech war, a drone war. We are constantly searching for the structures, tactics and methods of combat that bring the greatest success. A year ago, we used assault units for the first time in an offensive operation. These were the 33rd and 225th assault regiments in [Russia’s] Kursk Oblast. They were the first to enter enemy territory, breaking through its border defences."

Details: Syrskyi said these assault units proved effective because they employed alternative tactics: instead of a full frontal assault, they operated in small assault groups, encircled the enemy from the flanks and attacked from the rear.

The commander-in-chief said that success is evident in the casualty ratio, as Russian troops suffer losses several times greater than Ukrainian forces.

He pointed to the 425th Skala Assault Regiment as another example, saying it showed great performance on the Pokrovsk front. Since then, Ukraine has scaled up these units, and now, Syrskyi said, there are several assault regiments and a number of separate battalions, all performing strongly across most of the front.

Syrskyi also explained the operational difference between Assault Forces and Air Assault Forces, describing the latter as "elite infantry", capable of both offensive and defensive operations as well as deep rear raids.

Quote: "They are usually deployed in the most critical sectors of the front, where the enemy concentrates its strongest efforts… They have their own defence lines and are capable of sustaining offensive operations for a long time."

Details: Syrskyi added that, unlike the Air Assault Forces, Assault Forces are rapid-reaction units where mobility is their greatest advantage.

Quote: "Assault units are becoming a key element in strengthening our offensive potential, enabling us to adapt to the modern challenges of war. They are equipped with all the modern weaponry available to our armed forces. They are not assigned permanent sectors, classic defensive lines or offensive zones. They are deployed where the fighting is hardest."

Details: The commander-in-chief said that the Assault Forces take part in offensives as part of advance guard, tasked with breaching the first line of enemy defence and enabling airborne or mechanised brigades and battalions to join the battle.

Syrskyi noted that both paratroopers and assault soldiers suffer similar levels of casualties during offensives, but their losses remain significantly lower than those of the enemy.

He also explained that the Air Assault Forces and the Assault Forces cannot be combined because they focus on different tasks.

Quote: "And because of the specific nature of their tasks, these units [the Assault Forces] remain under my direct control and under the control of the General Staff. They must be regularly reinforced. They have their own training programme and are constantly prepared for future assault actions. They also require an uninterrupted supply of modern equipment."

Details: Syrskyi stressed that Air Assault Forces and Assault Forces are not set against one another in terms of logistics.

He added that Russian forces are also following the same path, having created a separate command structure for their own assault formations.

Background:

• On 20 September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he approved a plan to establish the Assault Forces. 
• The Assault Forces Directorate of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has now been established, and Hero of Ukraine Colonel Valentyn Manko was chosen as its commander.
• The General Staff said the newly formed Assault Forces will be used to break through enemy defences and to enable the introduction of main forces into battle, and will not take part in defensive operations.

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