Strikes on Russia are weakening its troops’ combat capabilities — Syrskyi

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, stated that strikes on the Russian Federation are significantly impacting the combat capabilities of Russian troops. Over the past few months, the consumption norms for artillery ammunition in the Russian army have nearly halved.

Syrsky emphasized that winning a war solely through defensive actions is impossible but assured that the Ukrainian military holds a technological advantage.

This was reported by Rubryka, citing Syrskyi's remarks during an interview.

War tactic

Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, stressed that winning a war through defensive strategies alone is impossible.

"No matter how much you defend, you will still retreat. We are forced to maintain defense and concentrate our forces along the entire front line," Syrskyi noted.

When journalist Andrii Tsaplienko asked how Ukraine should conduct offensive operations given Russia's advantage in manpower, armored vehicles, and aviation, Syrskyi highlighted the importance of leveraging Ukraine's strengths.

"We must focus on areas where we have an advantage," he explained. "We were the first in the world to establish the Unmanned Systems Forces. Currently, we are scaling and expanding the unmanned component, as well as actively developing robotic platforms."

Syrskyi also pointed to Ukraine's historical capabilities in manufacturing air defense systems, saying, "In Soviet times, all control systems for anti-aircraft missile systems were produced in Ukraine. This gives us the capacity and opportunity to create a domestic air defense complex, which I hope will be no worse than the Patriot system in terms of its characteristics."

It was also reported that Ukraine's defense industry produced over 30,000 bomber drones in the past year, which are now being actively deployed for strike missions by the Defense Forces.

Battles in the Pokrovsk area

"The enemy is making every effort to take it, and we are doing everything to prevent its capture," said Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, referring to the ongoing battle for Pokrovsk.

He dismissed claims predicting the city's fall, saying, "Some prophets said we would lose Pokrovsk on September 30. September 30 passed, and then they said we would lose it by October 30."

He pointed out that Russian forces are concentrating their best units in this direction, emphasizing their capacity for offensive operations. "They have the ability to rotate their units because they currently have greater potential for offensive operations—for now," Syrskyi noted.

Despite this, the commander highlighted that the enemy's losses in the area "many times" exceed those of the Ukrainian army.

Enemy's losses

In 2024, Russian forces have suffered catastrophic losses in their war against Ukraine, with casualties surpassing those of the first two years of the full-scale invasion.

"According to our calculations, total losses in 2024 amounted to more than 434,000 personnel. Of these, approximately 150,000 were killed. This means Russia lost more troops in this year of hostilities than in the previous two years combined," a Ukrainian military official reported.

Over the last 24 hours alone, from January 18 to 19, the Russian military reportedly lost 1,580 soldiers on the frontlines. In total, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Russian army's cumulative losses are estimated at 818,740 personnel.

Strikes on Russian territory

During the interview, Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, explained how strikes on Russian territory have been affecting the combat capabilities of the Russian military.

"For several months now, the norms for the consumption of artillery ammunition in the Russian army have practically halved. A vivid example is that previously they used to consume up to 40,000 shells per day, but now that figure has dropped significantly," Syrskyi explained.

He also recalled the massive strike carried out by the Ukrainian Defense Forces on the night of January 14, targeting military facilities across Russian territory, ranging from 200 to 1,100 km deep into Russia. The strike affected multiple regions, including Bryansk, Saratov, Tula, and Tatarstan.

Among the notable targets was the Kristal Plant oil storage base in Engels, Saratov Region, which had been struck before, with the fire from the previous attack still burning for five days before being extinguished. Another strategic target was the Bryansk Chemical Plant in the city of Seltso, a key facility for Russia's military-industrial complex, producing ammunition for artillery, rocket systems, aviation, and other military components, including those for the Kh-59 cruise missiles.

Additionally, it's important to note that in 2024, Ukraine has carried out at least 81 attacks on oil refineries (REFs) and fuel bases within Russia and in the occupied territories of Ukraine, with the southern regions of Russia being particularly affected.