The past holidays for many veterans of the army and navy were marked not only with celebrations, feasts and gifts. This is a routine that you forget about almost immediately. The main thing is that from somewhere out of oblivion, long-forgotten colleagues suddenly appeared. Those with whom he once served in the Soviet Army. There were conversations about life, memories … And, of course, about what the army of that state is today, where, due to circumstances, Soviet officers "ended up" in 1991.
It is no secret that many have become citizens of neighboring states without even really thinking about the consequences of this step. The unit in which they served was suddenly not in Russia. The majority simply could not abandon the soldiers, the service. Soviet education. And passports were issued most often after the fact. And no one believed in the possibility of a confrontation with Russia. How am I going to be on the other side of the "front"? We're friends. However, it happened …
Naturally, I also received congratulations from "independent" Ukraine. There were also talks about the army. But today we will not talk about conversations, but about one video that was "thrown off" for me. Video made by Ukrainian contract soldiers in one of the military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The words in the title of the article are not about the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They are told about another army. About our army. And they were said not with malice, but with pride. But after the video, they acquired a completely opposite meaning specifically for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. At least in my head.
Once upon a time in one of the African countries among the military and "soldiers of fortune" from different countries there was an anecdote. Why there? Simply because everyone fought against everyone there and it is not clear why. And multinational present and former military personnel supported "their" leaders.
- What can you say about the upcoming military campaign, General?
- God knows it will be lost.
- Why then should it be started?
- What do you mean why? To find out who exactly!
The video shows another Ukrainian military unit. More precisely, what is called a military unit in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Moreover, those who served in the last century easily recognize the "native" barracks, which were built in the era of "dear Leonid Ilyich" quite a lot. Standard typical Soviet Army barracks. And then … Next is the conclusion that I made in the title.
Veterans of the Armed Forces (not only Russian ones) are well aware of the psychology of a soldier and the methods of achieving high combat readiness of a subunit or unit. A soldier, no matter how motivated at the beginning of the service he was, in the "mess" becomes part of the mess. And going into battle with this subordinate is dangerous. Dangerous for the commander personally. Dangerous for all his colleagues.
The combat readiness of a soldier does not begin with a training ground or conversations about patriotism. Combat readiness begins with the "locker" and the canteen. The soldier must be soundly and more or less beautifully dressed and fed. And only then he can be taught, driven along the obstacle course, demanding knowledge of regulations, orders … Demand to go into battle, finally. And the famous "soldier's ingenuity" is manifested precisely in such conditions.
We hear a lot about the collapse of the Ukrainian army. And the results of the combat work of these "soldiers and officers" speak volumes. And the origins of this are in the barracks that I saw on the video.
First of all, the officer corps. In the part that is shown, it simply does not exist. There are people who wear officer's shoulder straps. They occupy some positions. Probably they own military equipment and weapons. But there are no officers, commanders!
Remember your first foreman? I still remember how I polished a square meter of floor near the bedside table for two hours in the daytime. And he came out of the locker room, took out a snow-white handkerchief and … showed me that the floor was dirty. There was dirt on the scarf … And he taught. We very quickly began to wash the floors, and not spread the dirt in an even layer.
And the platoon commander with his incomprehensible complaints about making the beds and the state of the bedside table? Just think, improperly arranged toiletries and something else! After all, this "something else" is hidden far inside. And the general, if, of course, suddenly appears, clearly will not stand "with the letter siu" to find it.
The Armed Forces contractors showed the "inhuman conditions" of life in the barracks … Bedside tables, whose doors are kept on parole. Toilets that are "clogged" in the morning almost immediately. Windows, transoms of which practically do not close. And dirt, dirt, dirt. "This is how we serve …" And these are not the words of a boy who in his life only saw that a school desk and his own cows and pigs in the yard. These are the words of healthy 40-year-old men.
Men who were doing something "before the army." Were, among other things, carpenters, plumbers, glaziers, electricians … It does not happen that by the age of 40 a man remains nothing. Moreover, today it is really more difficult to get into the Armed Forces of Ukraine than a couple of years ago. There really is some sort of selection.
The devastation in the barracks is an indicator of the absence of the commander, as such. There is no anthill without a queen. And each ant performs its own task. And he knows his task. Tactical. But only the uterus knows the strategic task. Everything is like in the army. The commander knows everything. And the higher the position of the commander, the larger this "all" becomes. In the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there is a real problem with the "queens".
By the way, by the way, I compared videos from the trenches of the Republicans and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I don't know if anyone paid attention to this. But there is exactly the same picture. Front. The enemy - here he is … And the Republicans have quite comfortable dugouts, "fortified" (well, sometimes such things, alas, get into the frame) are good. And the soldiers do not "bother" with thoughts about the negligent foreman who is "hanging out somewhere again" with dinner. Normal combat work. Just a little more risky than before.
The APU is always "at war". The videos of the soldiers are somewhat reminiscent of newsreels from the first war years. Trench. Periodically, someone crawls out to the embrasure and sends a magazine or two of cartridges into the white light. Going nowhere. He just "fights". And he dreams of being taken to rest. To the barracks. Why bother? Why equip something? After all, someday we will "go" … To find out "who exactly will lose the campaign."
The servicemen themselves speak about the absence of officers. Don't teach us! They understand that any weapon, even the most "European" or "American", will not shoot on its own and will not hit. We need a person who will do it. And the weapon? It is perfect only in the hands of a professional. A computer in the hands of a savage is much worse than a hammer. It is more convenient to break coconuts with a hammer …
At the beginning of the article, I mentioned the higher motivation of Ukrainian soldiers today. Many people probably remember the famous lines "Readiness for death is also a weapon …". This is just about the moral side of the matter.
Yes, it's a weapon. Only a double-edged weapon. For a trained fighter, this is the ability to perform combat super missions. Perform, knowing that the risk of death is great. But for a "soldier" it is just death. Cannon fodder level. Many will now remember the militia near Moscow in 1941 … But what about them? They defended … Yes, but at what cost? When, in the New Jerusalem area, the Germans simply crushed the militia with tanks? Every two hours - a new echelon … I talked to one of these veteran heroes. And he knew that to start, and maybe end the war, he would be that way. He knew that his death would stop the Germans even for an hour, for a minute, for a second. He defended himself.
The APU does not defend itself. Simply because the Republicans are not advancing. Everyone remembers how the LPNR army's offensives end.
The worst thing for Ukraine today is that most people, not only veterans of the Armed Forces, understand this. See the agony of the army. They see completely "Makhnovist" units of punishers. They see the futility of war in general. And they go voluntarily, like, excuse me, a herd of sheep into this meat grinder. For different reasons. It is not important. The main thing is coming. In the hope that "it will end soon", "yes, I serve in the air defense, we will not be sent," "I was there in the 14th …"
Basically, from the point of view of some of my opponents, I should gloat over the opponent of the Republicans. The worse the APU, the easier it will be for the armies of the LPR and DPR. May be. Only now I do not want something. You look at the faces of ordinary Ukrainian men who talk about their "service" in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and you understand: no one needs this "shooting" for a long time. And "they meet the fallen heroes on their knees" too. They want to see their Hanna or Svetlanka by their side …
A country cornered. Destroyed spiritually, historically, culturally, economically. And physically destroyed. The Soviet Ukraine still lives in the hearts of Ukrainians. Ukraine is the winner. Therefore, they believe in the strength of their APU. That is why they think that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are really a modern army. Yes, they believe in the possibility of at least a small "change" over the Russian army. And … into a meat grinder …
It is really impossible to defeat such an army … Not because this army is strong and can easily defeat you. No. There is simply no such army. There are "men with machine guns." But there is no army. And it is not necessary.
