Interview Russian General Surovikin Commander of the Joint Group of Forces, October 18th 2022.

Abstracts of the interview of the commander of the Joint Group of Forces in the area of the Special Military Operation, Army General S.V. Surovikin.
In general, the situation in the zone of the special military operation can be described as tense.
The enemy does not give up trying to attack the positions of Russian troops. First of all, this applies to the Kupyansk, Krasnolimansk and Mykolaiv-Kryvyi Rih directions. The enemy is a criminal regime that pushes the citizens of Ukraine to their deaths. We and the Ukrainians are one people and we want one thing, that Ukraine was independent of the West and NATO and a friendly state for Russia.
The Ukrainian regime seeks to break through our defenses. To do this, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are pulling up all available reserves to the front line. Basically, these are territorial defense forces that have not undergone a full course of training.
In fact, the Ukrainian leadership condemns them to destruction. As a rule, such units have low morale. To prevent escape from the frontline, the Ukrainian authorities use barrages of nationalists who shoot everyone who tries to leave the battlefield.
Every day the enemy's losses range from 600 to 1000 people killed and wounded.
We have a different strategy. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief has already spoken about this. We do not strive for high rates of advance, we protect every soldier and methodically "grind" the advancing enemy. This not only minimizes their losses, but also significantly reduces the number of civilian casualties.
Currently, the Joint Group of Forces is taking measures to build up the combat and numerical composition of formations and military units, create additional reserves, equip defensive lines and positions along the entire line of combat contact.
Strikes with high-precision weapons on military facilities and infrastructure facilities affecting the combat capability of Ukrainian troops continue.
The special military operation confirmed the effectiveness of the aviation complexes and air defense systems we have in service.
During the operation, the crews of operational-tactical, army and long-range aviation performed more than 34 thousand combat sorties. They used over seven thousand guided aircraft weapons. The latest hypersonic aviation missiles "Dagger" have proven themselves well in hitting objects. None of the enemy's air defense systems are afraid of this missile. The highest accuracy was also shown by strategic air-launched cruise missiles.
In terms of the quality of combat use, I would like to highlight the fifth-generation multifunctional Su-57 aircraft. Having a wide range of weapons, in each flight it solves multifaceted tasks of hitting air and ground targets.
Unmanned aircraft carried out more than 8 thousand sorties, and attack drones destroyed more than 600 objects of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
There is a difficult situation in this area. The enemy purposefully strikes at infrastructure facilities and residential buildings in Kherson. Hits by Highmars rockets damaged the Antonovsky Bridge and the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, the movement on which was stopped.
As a result, the delivery of food is difficult in the city, there are certain problems with water and electricity supply. All this not only significantly complicates the life of citizens, but also creates a direct threat to their lives.
The NATO leadership of the armed forces of Ukraine has long demanded from the Kiev regime offensive operations in the Kherson direction, regardless of any casualties - both in the Armed Forces of Ukraine themselves and among the civilian population.
We have data on the possibility of the Kiev regime using prohibited methods of war in the area of the city of Kherson, on Kiev's preparation of a massive missile strike on the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, and on a massive missile and artillery strike on the city without indiscriminate targets.
These actions can lead to the destruction of the infrastructure of a large industrial center and large casualties among the civilian population.
In these circumstances, our first priority is to preserve the life and health of civilians. Therefore, first of all, the Russian army will ensure a safe, already announced departure of the population under the resettlement program being prepared by the Russian Government.
Our further plans and actions regarding the city of Kherson itself will depend on the evolving military-tactical situation.
I repeat - it is already very difficult today.
In any case, as I have already said, we will proceed from the need to preserve the lives of civilians and our servicemen as much as possible.
We will act consciously, in a timely manner, not excluding the adoption of difficult decisions.
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