The German publication Bild has obtained access to secret documents of the Bundeswehr, in which they criticize the Defense Forces of Ukraine: the military is divided into too small groups, and experienced fighters do not use what they were taught in the West.
Ukraine divides brigades that have undergone Western military training into groups of 10-30 soldiers, which isolates them from the rest of the army. The Bundeswehr believes this increases the "danger of friendly fire" and reduces cohesion, making it difficult to "build up your own momentum or establish fire superiority."
At the same time, the German security forces noted that the more combat experience a Ukrainian soldier has and the higher his rank, the worse he learns the principles of Western training.
Instead, recruits "achieve greater academic success." Such soldiers, after returning to the front, may face the fact that they will not be able to use their new knowledge due to resistance from their commanders.
A secret Bundeswehr document notes that management personnel demonstrate "sometimes significant deficiencies in leadership and the application of management processes [...] which sometimes lead to incorrect and dangerous decisions."
The Bundeswehr concludes that these factors may explain the limited gains of the current counteroffensive operation.
- The Ukrainian counteroffensive continues. As of the beginning of July, the Defense Forces have already liberated eight settlements in the south: Rivnopillia, Pyatikhatky, Lobkove, Levadne, Novodarivka, Neskuchne, Storozheve, Makarivka, and Blahodatne, and also occupied several positions near Krasnohorivka in the Donetsk region, which have been under occupation since 2014. As of July 3, the vacated area in the south was 158.4 square meters.
- On June 24, the Ministry of Defense officially announced the beginning of the offensive in the east in several directions at the same time — in the direction of Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Bakhmut, Bohdanivka, Yahidne, Klishchiivka, and Kurdyumivka.
- On July 24, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine informed that, in general, in the south of Ukraine, the fighters recaptured more than 192 square kilometers of territory, and near Bakhmut — almost 35 square kilometers.